Dead Bone Pulse
by Endogetsu
Summary: After being abandoned nameless at an orphanage somewhere in the Elemental Nations, a boy discovers his power and place in life. A Kimimaro-is-Harry fic. Pairing is KimiLuna.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: Don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.**

Hello readers! This is yet another unusual fic that features an unusual storyline. Here, It will be a crossover between Naruto and HP. I think that this is the first time this has been done but I'll do it for the fans! This will be a Kimimaro-is-Harry fic…again, don't know if its been done before but I'll give it a go…now, on with the show.

It was a bitter cold night on the streets of Privet Drive. A place so normal that it was considered one of the dullest places in the country. Soon, this normal policy would be broken when, in a flash, a strangely dressed man appeared. He was old, very old, for he had a long grey beard tucked into his belt. His blue twinkling eyes shone beneath half-moon glasses. He was dressed in a bright robe with little crescent moons decorating it. He suddenly put his hand into the robe and pulled out a lighter. With it, he aimed at the street lamps, watching as they went out, one by one.

The old man turned around to see a cat observing him. Smiling amusedly at the stillness of the creature, he beckoned it over.

"My dear Minerva, surely one would think that the position would be a tad uncomfortable?" He asked the cat and watched as it jumped and morphed into an old woman with dark green robes, hair tied back into a bun and stern eyes appear. She scowled a little at the old man.

"Well Albus, you'd be stiff as well if you had to sit on a brick wall all day." She said in irritation. She watched the old man chuckle slightly before she got down to business.

"Albus, is it true what everyone is saying? That Lily and James Potter are d-dead?" She choked out and paled as Albus nodded his head. "Oh Albus…how could this happen? I heard that their child, Harry, survived a killing curse from You-Know-Who himself!" Here Albus frowned.

"Surely Minerva, you of all people aren't afraid to say his real name, or even his moniker, Lord Voldemort?" He said and the woman gasped at the name. Shaking his head Albus turned his gaze to the sky.

"What about young Harry? What will happen to him?" She questioned seemingly dreading the answer. Albus' eyes flickered to her for a brief moment before replying.

"He will be staying with his aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley." He said and Minerva looked at him in slight anger.

"The Dursleys? Albus, you can't be serious! I've seen their child as he kicked his mother up the street in a tantrum! You cannot expect me to believe that Harry Potter of all people would be raised by these savages." She cried out in rage. Albus looked sadly at her.

"I am afraid that there is no other choice. He is not yet ready to handle the burden of being the Boy-Who-Lived…and Hagrid is bringing him now, I see." He heard Minerva question about the safety of a half-giant bringing a baby when a loud rumble echoed. Looking up in the sky, a flash of light became clear and with it, a giant roaring motorcycle and a huge man with a furry beard carrying a small bundle. The motorcycle dropped onto the road below, right in front of Albus.

"Ah… Hagrid, you have arrived! And is this…?" Albus greeted and trailed off at the end. The giant smiled a little.

"Y-yes Professor Dumbledore, found the little tyke underneath the rubble" Here he started sobbing at the loss of his friends. "H-had to borrow the bike from young Sirius Black. Well, here he is safe and sound, but…" This but caused a pause with the two elderly people.

"But?…" Albus prodded gently. Hagrid wailed a little before calming down.

"T-the boy looks nothin' like his parents! His hair is white!" He said in alarm. Indeed the child did have white hair along with a faded lightning bolt scar on the right side of his forehead. Albus frowned a little before dismissing it as a muggle ailment, which would be cured when the boy reached Hogwarts. Leaving the boy on the doorstep of no.4, he and his associates bade farewell to the saviour of the wizarding world, Harry Potter.

Soon after leaving before placing a letter on the bundle, the front door of the house opened and a huge whale of a man and a woman with a long neck looked out. Spotting the child and letter they paled. After reading the letter, the fat man grabbed the bundle and walked to his car. He turned to his wife.

"I am not having a freak living under our roof! Lucky we booked that holiday to Japan, eh Pet?" He questioned and his wife smirked. After the woman picked up her child, Dudley, she got into the packed car.

The drive to the airport was rather dull, the 'freak' was asleep thankfully, and they didn't need any more headaches what with baby Dudley's wailing. Reaching the airport, they had to stay overnight and wait in the morning for their flight.

On the plane, Vernon was congratulating himself. He had not only managed to find a way to get rid of the freak, but he had managed to secure a business deal in a place called 'Kiri' or something. Yes, soon the boy would be out of their hands and into an orphanage where he belonged!

A few years later…

The patriarch of the Kaguya clan was looking at the Hidden Village of the Mist, or Kirigakure, in contempt. Soon, the clan would rise and crush this pathetic village. Walking into the village, ignoring the looks of the civilians, he went to the orphanage.

Most would question why such an esteemed clan leader would be seen near an orphanage but only he knew the answer. The minds of young children could be moulded to how he wanted and crush Kirigakure not just physically, but politically as well. Fighters, merchants, negotiators, anything was possible when taken at a young age. Entering, he grunted a greeting at the matron, an unsightly hag of a woman. She nodded to him and directed him to the halls where the children lived.

Looking around, he noticed a number of children lying in small sleeping sacks, none too special to consider. Looking disappointed at the children who couldn't be used, he was about to leave when he felt it. Rushing outside behind the orphanage, he saw him. A four year old boy was using chakra to tree climb! He looked over the boy. He had silver hair tied back in a low ponytail, brushing his upper back. His face was blank, as if he had been doing it his whole life! This was absurd! Coming to a decision, he approached the boy.

"You there, boy!" He yelled and the boy turned his blank green eyes to him. "You seem quite good at that for your age, how would you like to come with me? I can train you well!" He said and the boy looked shocked before nodding. Asking the boy if he had a name, he watched him frown and shake his head. Thinking, he came up with a name.

"Heh, Welcome to the Kaguya clan, Kimimaro." He said and the boy nodded in reply. Thus his life with the Kaguya started…

4 years later…

Life wasn't easy for 8 year old Kimimaro. He was forced to be confined in a cell, albeit a large one though he didn't really mind. His only goal was perfecting his bloodline limit, which he discovered when he was five. He could manipulate his skeletal structure in many different ways to sprout bones from his body. He never knew of it before until a bone shot from his fingertip and impaled a tree, going straight through it. The clan had named it the Shikotsumyaku…the Dead Bone Pulse, a rather fitting name. He was only really let out to fight the clans enemies, although the clan was upset that he never showed the same amount of brutality as they did. It was fight, then cell, then fight, and then cell. A routine he got used to quickly.

It was the newest mission that sparked an interest in him. The patriarch had organised a meeting. They would be destroying Kirigakure but they had left him behind in his dungeon, thinking he would get in their way.

"Kukuku! How lonely you must be…trapped in here to rot." A snake-like voice attracted his attention. Turning his head, he confronted the intruder.

The man was pale, very pale. With snake like yellow eyes rimmed by purple eyeliner. His long black hair blending well with the darkness of his prison. His attire consisted of a light green tunic tied up with a large purple rope belt. His lower half was black pants and shinobi sandals. A truly frightening visage, but Kimimaro stared at him blankly, amusing the man.

"If I free you…would you be interested in working for me? I have use for someone with such capabilities as yours." He said, causing Kimimaro to go wide-eyed. Someone had need of him! Yes, he would help this man…as long as he freed him. After the man did so, he promised to meet up later, after the attack on Kirigakure.

Kimimaro sprinted along the road past Wave country, hoping to reach Kiri in time. Up ahead he noticed two people. One was large, with a huge cleaver-looking sword on his back with face wrappings and a tilted hitae-ate. The other was younger, roughly his age, who was wearing a kimono and had long brown hair. He stopped in front of them.

"Are you Mist-nin, strangers?" He questioned and tensed. The man had recognised the red dot markings on Kimimaro's head.

"A Kaguya, eh? I saw a whole bunch of your clansmen going that way." He pointed behind him. "And we ain't no Mist-nin…" He said in response to the original question. Kimimaro nodded in gratitude before running in the direction he was given. Back with the two missing-nin, the long haired one stood still and looked in the direction where the white haired boy ran off to.

"Haku? What is it?" The tall man with the sword gruffly asked the now named Haku. He turned to the swordsman.

"I apologise, Zabuza-san. Its just…he had the same eyes as mine…someone who has found his purpose…" He said to the now name Zabuza, who looked at him for a moment before continuing onwards, Haku trailing behind him.

The whole village was celebrating the demise of the now dead Kaguya clan. Kimimaro looked cautiously from a corner as his clan members were executed in succession. The patriarch of the Kaguya clan yelled out before he was beheaded.

"I curse this damned village! Nothing but a bunch of peace-loving bastards! Kimimaro will kill you all! You'll se-" He was cut off when the huge executioner blade cut through his neck, decapitating him.

Kimimaro cursed. That fool had alerted the guards to his presence. Thinking quickly, he ran away. He wasn't like his clan members with their never run from battle laws. He had self-preservation thank you very much. He had just reached a small clearing in the nearby woods when he felt someone kick him from behind, into a tree. It was Kiri's hunter-nin! One raised his blade to Kimimaro.

"Damn bloodline freak! Today you die before you can spread your disease to the good people of Kiri!" He yelled out, getting cries of agreement from his four comrades. Just as he was about to finish Kimimaro off, snakes seemingly appeared out of nowhere and strangled the hunter-nin to death, leaving the other members of the hunter squad in shock. Turning to confront the source of intrusion and paled but Kimimaro recognised the man. It was his saviour, the snake man!

He watched in awe as the snake man proceeded to decimate the squad of hunters before turning to Kimimaro with a smile.

"So…Kimimaro-kun." He began. "…I have come to collect you. Are you prepared to come with me now?" He questioned and the white haired youth nodded.

"If I may ask, what is your name sir?" Kimimaro asked. The man looked at him and smiled.

"Kukuku…I am Orochimaru." He announced, and the boy bowed to him and walked away from Kiri, to a new life…

7 years later… (Last long time skip for now)

In a field clearing, two boys were engaged in a battle. On one side was a 15 year old teen who had pale skin, vivid green eyes, masculine facial features, and shoulder-length white hair, which he wore divided down the middle on his head (distinguished by a 'zigzag' hair parting) with two separate partings on either side of his face. He also had two red dots above his eyes and red markings underneath them. His outfit consisted of a light lavender, loose-fitting, long-sleeved, zip-up shirt, black pants cut off around mid-calf, bandages wrapped around his ankles, traditional shinobi sandals, and a purple, rope-like belt tied in an inverted bow around his waist. He also wore two red, tube-like hair ornaments, one on either side of his head, securing two locks of his silvery-white hair. He was glaring at the 'piece of trash' in front of him that just wouldn't die.

His opponent in question was a small 12-year-old boy dressed in a luminous orange and blue jump-suit, along with blonde hair and whisker marks. The white haired green-eyed teen looked impassively at the numerous amounts of clones the boy had summoned. Sighing, he slid his arms out of his lavender tunic, allowing it to fall around his waist. He then, to the surprise of the orange wearing boy, sprouted a bone sword from his upper arm.

"**Tsubaki no mai**…(Dance of the Camellia)" He spoke out.

He then proceeded to deliver a graceful sword dance of quick stabs and sharp thrusts at very fast speeds, which took down a large number of clones in a matter of seconds. He had managed to deliver a few sword strikes to the real boy, knocking him over. The white haired teen was just preparing to finish the blonde boy off when, from out of nowhere, a bowl cut boy in a green spandex suit emerged from the nearby foliage and kicked the teen in the jaw, sending him backwards before he landed on his feet to glare at the intruder.

Bowl cut apparently decided that he would fight him, Kimimaro, instead. Kimimaro idly watched the boy in orange go after the earlier escaped Uchiha Sasuke. Knowing that it was futile to even think that the boy would defeat Orochimaru-sama's future vessel, he allowed the boy to continue.

Watching his new opponent he couldn't help but question the fashion sense of Konoha-nin. Having enough of his thoughts he turned back to the bowl cut, Rock Lee if he heard correctly from the blonde brat. It didn't matter though, trash was trash, and it was his duty to clean up after his 'comrades', and he used that term quite loosely as they were less than trash for losing to some weak pathetic shinobi. He watched as the boy ran at impressive speeds towards him, clashing the boy's kick with a bone he pulled out from his arm.

"Hmph…you're a speedy little piece of trash aren't you…" Kimimaro remarked to the bowl cut boy.

"Your unyouthful acts will never defeat the Beautiful Green Beast, Rock Lee! I will defeat you, and help bring back Sasuke-san!" Lee yelled as he came back into the fight with fervour. Although his face didn't show it, Kimimaro was slightly disturbed by this boy's 'mannerisms'. He did, however, hear the last part through his daze.

"You speak of the future vessel? I do not understand." He paused, taking a few steps back. "Why would you risk your life to save a traitor?" He questioned in genuine curiosity. This caused Lee to smile.

"Sasuke-san is our comrade! And besides, isn't our relationship to Sasuke-san similar as yours is with the unyouthful Orochimaru?" This caused Kimimaro to grit his teeth in anger.

"You would dare compare that useless vessel with Orochimaru-sama? Enough of your prattle, trash! I will not take such disrespect lightly!" Kimimaro spat venomously, and prepared to obliterate the genin.

"**Karamatsu no Mai**! (Dance of the Larch)" He yelled, and bones sprouted from many different places on his body. With a withering glare at Lee, he started to spin rapidly, crashing into him violently and spilling blood. The boy coughed before holding out his hand in a waiting sign. Surprisingly, Kimimaro stopped and observed.

"I…I will have to take my medicine…please give me five minutes and then we shall fight again." Lee said. While Kimimaro didn't tolerate any disrespect to the people he valued, he had an honour code. He would allow the boy to take his medication and fight at full power. After all, if you were going to die, you might as well go all out right? This would prove fatal to Kimimaro for the boy drank his 'medicine' and started to stumble and his eyes were hazy and half-lidded. Looking warily at the younger boy, Kimimaro attacked by aiming his hands at the boy.

"**Tenshi Sendan**! (Drilling Finger Bullets)" with that cry, small bullet sized holes appeared on his finger tips. Small bullets made of bone erupted from the holes, fully intent on causing bodily damage to the target. What the boy did next surprised Kimimaro. He dodged in such a sloppy manner that the bullets were easily avoided. He glared at Lee.

"You…you dare mock me? I will destroy you, trash!" He yelled and prepared to attack with Tsubaki no Mai. The boy continued to annoy him by slurring taunts out while miraculously dodging every strike. Having enough of the obviously drunken boy, he prepared to use one of his more powerful attacks. He had to ascend to the level 2 of his curse seal to do it though, for the move was costly. First he ascended to the first stage, which resulted in black line markings covering his body from the seal at the base of his throat. He glared at the bowl cut.

"I will no longer stand for your attitude! You will learn to fear the Shikotsumyaku!" He yelled and his skin began to darken to brown (not racist!). huge bone columns erupted out of his back, and a large bone ridged tail erupted out of his lower back. His eyes became red with black sclera and he gained black facial marks around his eyes (Kimimaro level 2 curse seal).

"This is my power…**Tessenka no Mai: Tsuru**! (Dance of the Clematis: Vine)" He called out and he ripped out his spinal cord from his back and formed it into a whip. Focusing, he hurled the whip at such fast speeds that the boy couldn't escape. Wrapping around the boy with the whip, he morphed his other arm into a bone drill. With it, he then yanked the whip, causing its captive to spin wildly. He ran up to the dizzy genin and rammed the drill into his side.

"**Tessenka no Mai: Hana**! (Dance of the Clematis: Flower)" He yelled as the boy was sent careening into a nearby tree. Kimimaro then fell to his knees and slightly coughed up blood. He hated the curse seal at times. While its power boost was a great boon, it agitated his disease, causing him to tire out when using it. He decided to end it quickly and fire some bone bullets at the boy's head.

"**Tenshi Sendan**!" He called, but as the bullets were about to connect, they were intercepted…by a wall of sand? Looking confused and enraged, he turned to the interruption and found a red haired boy with black ringed green eyes not too dissimilar from his own with the kanji for love on his forehead. Kimimaro, looking at the kanji, remembered when he had that ridiculous lightning bolt scar when he was younger. Orochimaru and Kabuto had removed the scar though intense medical treatment when he arrived so that they could convert it into the Curse Seal of Earth, which he wore proudly.

"More trash? Why cant you all just kill yourselves? It will save me a lot of time…" He sighed, preparing to engage the new opponent.

"Come then, drone of Orochimaru. Show me your power…" The redhead said and Kimimaro became enraged.

"Don't you dare talk about Orochimaru-sama in such a manner!" He yelled and tried to gore the sand boy with his drill arm, which almost managed to pierce through the boy's automatic sand defence, to the boy's surprise.

As Kimimaro continued to battle the sand genin, he didn't notice that Lee, who had recovered from his stupor, got up and moved to attack with a kick.

Kimimaro was really getting annoyed. First, he had to expose his bloodline limit to trash not worth his time, and then he had gotten his ass handed to him by a drunken trash. His final humiliation was using his level 2 of the Curse seal, which was steadily agitating his disease. He could already feel his eyes blurring as his illness was getting worse. His coughing increasing, he decided to end it before he died. For Orochimaru-sama…he would use his last resort.

"I will end it all here, trash! You will not stop Orochimaru-sama's dreams! **Sawarabi no Mai**! (Dance of the Seedling Fern)" Kimimaro screamed. Suddenly, the field was riddled with towering bone spikes that erupted from the soil, completely covering the surrounding landscape. In the middle of this was two sand platforms, on them were the redhead and Lee.

"Gaara-san! You saved me! Thank you for your assistance!" He said in gratitude and the now named Gaara nodded. However, this peaceful moment would be interrupted by the interference of…

"DIIIIEEEEEEEE!" Kimimaro screamed as he erupted from a bone close to the two genin and poised his drill to stab Gaara in the head, who closed his eyes.

After a minute of silence, Gaara opened his eyes and to his shock, the bone drill didn't reach him, stopping just in front of his eyes. He looked at the white-haired teen, who had a face of shock and despair.

"D-dammit! No! I'm sorry…Orochimaru-sama…I can't help you anymore…" and with that the boy's drill arm was destroyed, and he fell limp.

Gaara and Lee stared in shock for a few moments before Gaara moved them away to a safe location.

Meanwhile, far away in a huge school…

Albus was shocked. Harry Potter looked close to dying according to the devices he keyed into the boy! The boy seemed to be unconsciously causing him trouble. First, he went missing and using legilimency on the Dursleys revealed a trip to Japan. So he searched a few villages and towns in the hope of finding the wayward saviour.

He had gotten a lead on an orphanage that had been home to a white-haired boy with Lily Potter's green eyes. At the time, he sent Alastor Moody, his old friend, to investigate. The crippled man had returned with news that the boy was there but had left with the patriarch of a local clan called the Kaguya. They couldn't get any more info because the matron of the orphanage never saw anything else.

After a while, the devices would constantly flicker from blank to mild danger. This troubled him greatly, for he was sure that now the boy wasn't having a good childhood and he had been unable to garner anything from the Kaguya clan head, who was quite rude in saying he never heard of the boy. Dumbledore suspected he was lying but he couldn't actively do anything without drawing the attention of the armed forces of Kirigakure. He left disappointed.

As he pondered on the boy, he realised something. It would soon be the boys start in his fourth year had he come to Hogwarts. He had to deal with the boy's godfather, Sirius Black, who took up the lead search for his godson when he heard he was missing.

As he returned to the situation, observed the devices more closely, particularly one that marked him with a 'terminal illness'. Now he was worried. The boy had some kind of disease that he had contracted and thus it was killing him at this very moment! He had to do something! Quickly using Fawkes, his phoenix, he sent him out. Hopefully, Fawkes would be able to find the boy this time…

With Fawkes some time later.

The old one had sent him to locate the wizarding world's supposed 'saviour'. The phoenix would have scoffed if it could at the silliness of humans. He was one of the few who would know where the boy might be, beyond the barrier that so many didn't know existed. He had sensed the boy's destructive magic rather easily, as it was the cause of the boy's 'terminal illness'. He would have scoffed again if he could because without the proper focus for such large reserves of magic, it would destroy the body from the inside. Yes…the boy's 'unknown terminal illness' was nothing more than a slightly advanced contraction of Magic Poisoning.

He had been searching through the world on the other side of the barrier, the Elemental Nations, for the boy's magical signature. He had seemingly found it in a field of what looked like bone spikes. Weaving in and out of the towers, he saw the boy who looked like he was on deaths door. Looking sadly at him, Fawkes realised that he couldn't just teleport with the boy because the barrier prevented such things. So, he settled for pulling the boy from the bone spike that he was planted in, causing the others to shatter. He then proceeded to fly to the nearest town and get him medical assistance, then he would guide the boy outside the barrier, into the wizarding world when he recovered.

"OH MY GOD!" Came the cry of a villager who saw the unconscious bloody white haired teen. She then gathered a few of the local civilians to carry the boy to the medical hospital. Fawkes trailed along, ignoring the awe-filled looks of the villagers.

A few days later…

Kimimaro woke up…wait. Woke up? Wasn't he dead? Sitting up, he realised that he was in a bed, with his clothes hanging over a chair and him dressed in a hospital gown.

"I'm alive?" He questioned to nobody. Suddenly, a trill of a bird was heard. Turning his head, Kimimaro looked at what was possibly the most beautiful bird he had ever seen. It was pure red and looked like it was glowing with fire. Reaching out a hesitant arm, he watched as the bird landed on it and smiled a little. Somehow the presence of this bird eliminated his illness while it was near. He suddenly thought of something.

"Why didn't Orochimaru-sama come for me?" He questioned. Then he felt dread. "Did he…abandon me?" He looked broken. "…I don't have a purpose anymore…"

Fawkes watched as the white-haired boy mulled to himself and talk in Japanese. Luckily, phoenixes understood a majority of human languages so it was simple to understand him. He trilled sadly at the boy causing him to look at him with a smile before placing him on a nearby perch that the villagers set up.

Kimimaro stood up and got dressed. There would be no need to wear the purple rope belt anymore. It would be a disgrace to wear it as he had failed Orochimaru. He realised that he wouldn't be able to return to his lord's side. Sighing, he pulled on his attire consisting of the lavender tunic, black pants, and black shinobi sandals. Deciding to leave, he exited his room and went to the front door, where he saw a shocked looking old man in an eccentric getup of a robe with moon patterns looking in his direction, along with three others, two men and a woman. They all looked like foreigners. Feeling suspicious of the strange group, Kimimaro quickened his pace and left, fleeing the village out the front gates, all the while unaware of the big black canine that was following him.

Albus was shocked. He had managed to enter the barrier along with his Order into the Elemental countries and had arrived in a small village town, which only spoke in Japanese so he had to use a translation charm. He had been informed by Fawkes that Harry was here! He had to find him and make sure he was safe. Rushing to the hospital with a few of his Order of the Phoenix members, namely Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, he saw the boy.

His skin was unnaturally pale, like he had never seen the light of day. His long white hair parted by a zigzag pattern and had strands of it tucked into red tube ornaments as some of the hair framed his face. His eyes were green like Lily's…but the thing that shocked him the most was the lack of a scar on 'Harry's' forehead, which in place of the lightning bolt scar was a pair of red dots above each eye. He also noted the dark red marks under the eyes, a sign of the disease perhaps? He looked at the boy's attire. A long lavender tunic marked his upper body that was undone around the middle, revealing a small tattoo at the base of his throat and part of the boy's slightly muscular body. The arms of the tunic covered his hands slightly. His lower half consisted of black pants and those black sandals he had seen many armed forces of the Elemental Countries wear. The boy looked at him blankly with an emotionless face, which bothered Albus, and ran out of the building.

Fawkes had been following the boy and, upon seeing Dumbledore, he landed on his shoulder. He idly took note of Sirius transforming into a black dog before speeding after the saviour of the wizarding world. He heard Nymphadora make a comment.

"Wow…he's quite good-looking! Makes me wish I were a bit younger…" She commented wistfully, casting a glance at Remus to see if he was jealous, which was noted as his eyes narrowed a little before he turned to Dumbledore.

"Albus…are you certain that was Harry?" He questioned. He too didn't like that emotionless look that he cast at them before running away.

"I am positive, dear boy…let us hurry after him." He said and the three vanished in a pop.

With Kimimaro…

Kimimaro was getting annoyed. Those strangely dressed people he saw at the hospital were following him. Cursing, he fired off a warning shot of Tenshi Sendan at one of them, just missing so that it would send a warning message. It apparently worked as he heard a shout of surprise from behind, causing him to get away in the confusion.

Remus was frightened. That little bullet had just missed his head and impaled itself through a tree! Looking at the others, he saw they were as disturbed and shocked as he was. Shakily, they resumed their pursuit, at a further away pace.

Kimimaro had reached a small village on the outskirts of the barrier, not that he knew there was one. He had settled into a nearby restaurant to get a quick snack to eat when he was interrupted. He turned around and saw the most ridiculous group of people he ever seen. There were five of them, dressed in long black robes and wearing white skull masks and had sticks of all things brandished at him. They all started to speak to him in a language he couldn't identify. Not liking being interrupted, he prepared to kill these trashes for daring to think they could defeat him with sticks.

"**Yanagi no Mai**! (Dance of the Willow)" With that, two bone swords sprouted from his palms into his hands, which caused some of the group in black to feel slightly sick. At insanely fast speeds, he slashed them up. Stabs, thrusts, spins of graceful precision that tore through the group in seconds that left many civilians watching in awe and fear at the boy.

Kimimaro looked impassively at the corpses before looting them of valuables, a common practice amongst shinobi that was taught to them so that they could throw away their morals in battle. He never took pleasure in such an act and he had vowed to only use it when necessary. He concluded it was a required act, for those sticks looked interesting to him. They were well carved and, if enough force was placed behind them, could blind someone if stabbed in the eye. Pocketing the sticks, he then heard a popping noise behind him. Turning around, he came face to face with that same group that been following him. They were looking rather disgusted at such a display he performed but he didn't care as long as they left him alone to find his new purpose in life.

Albus and his entourage had followed the wayward saviour to a nearby village at the edge of the barrier. After reaching the village, he and the others now joined by Alastor, questioned the locals on the boys description. They were about to take a break when they heard the sound of blades piercing flesh and screams of pain nearby. When they reached the scene, they paled and turned green with disgust. There were 5 dead Death Eaters that had been brutally slain with what appeared to be sword wounds. They noticed 'Harry' kneeling over one of them, rustling through the dead man's pockets! Had he no respect for the dead? To do such things was…evil through and through. They watched as he got up and turned to look at them with his emotionless gaze.

"Why are you following me?" He questioned. This caused Albus to cough a little before he spoke.

"We have come for you of course, young Harry." He said and he watched as the boy narrowed his green eyes.

"I do not know of any 'Hari' (needle)" The boy answered fumbling the obviously foreign name, causing the group to frown.

"Surely you would know your own name, Harry my boy?" The old man prodded. He watched the boy narrow his eyes further.

"My name is Kimimaro…you piece of trash." The boy retorted coldly, causing the Hogwarts headmaster to stiffen a little at the boy's words. This caused anger amongst his group, which had grown larger as more had come in the hopes of seeing the missing 'Boy-who-lived'.

"How dare you talk to the Albus Dumbledore like that!" A red-haired woman yelled out, with others saying similar things.

Kimimaro was confused. This huge gathering of people had suddenly started yelling at him in a different language. Getting a small headache, he decided to scare of these foolish trashes. Stretching his hands in front, causing the group to tense up, he shouted.

"**Tenshi Sendan**!" And with that, small holes opened up in his fingertips and little bullets made of bone careened towards the crowd, slightly grazing them, hoping that they would get the message. His eyes went wide when he realised that his disease was acting up again without the support of that bird. He collapsed on one knee, clutching his heart and blood escaped his mouth with coughing fits. This caused the group to back off in alarm.

"It's his illness! Hurry, we must get him to the Hospital on the other side of the barrier!" He heard the old man call out. How did he know of his disease? And what was this about a barrier?

This caused the crowd to gasp in fear that their saviour would die from an unknown disease. Before the illness rendered him unconscious, the last thing he saw was a black dog staring at him as he blacked out.

**END OF CHAPTER…**

Thought I would end it here after such a long chapter. Okay, to sum it up simply, this is a Kimimaro-is-Harry fic, most likely the first of its kind, and my first attempt at a NaruHP crossover. The pairing will be Kimimaro/Luna because Luna is awesome. I am not too good at bashing characters so there will only be mild bashing of characters that deserve it. Also, Harry translated as Hari does mean needle!

**Hope to get the next chapter out soon, later!**

**Endogetsu.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Woah…Only put it up for a few minutes and got so many reviews! Thanks, guys and girls! Now, I shall address the issues I read for the first chapter.**

**Keep reviewing, my loyal readers!**

**Reviews to note.**

**RyuuKitsune9****: **Thanks for the review! You don't have to worry about the KimiLuna pairing as I completely understand kimimaro's lack of love in his childhood, therefore the relationship will start at a slow pace and gradually work its way up. Don't worry, I've read far too many fics where it's all love at first site, which makes it much harder to believe and makes me sick for a while.

**Hellzanetruesdale****: **At first, this was actually going to be a Harry-is-Zabuza fic (0_0) so it's ironic that you and many others mentioned Haku in your comments. I hope I will improve your opinion as the story progresses.

Questions will be answered at the end of the chapter.

Now, a thank you to everyone else and on with the second chapter!

Chapter 2

He was unconscious. That much was for certain but for some reason he couldn't fathom why he passed out…oh right, his disease. He decided that being in such a vulnerable state was unacceptable so, after slowly gaining his bearings in his unconscious state, Kimimaro awoke to an unfamiliar room that looked like a hospital. Sighing at being in a hospital yet again, he looked down at himself. Yes, they actually left his clothes on. At least they weren't some organisation hell bent to trying to rape him…wait. He remembered now! Those pieces of trash had abducted him while he was knocked out! Slowly gaining a grip on his temper, he looked at what he presumed was the medical facility he occupied.

The room was empty, save him, and looked rather old fashioned in many ways. The room lacked the Japanese hospital-like rooms he was accustomed to when Kabuto performed his medical exams so it was understandable that he was freaking out a little at the foreign surroundings. After locating his belongings quietly, it was midnight apparently, and sat on his bed in a crossed leg position. He opened his containment scrolls from his bag and emptied the contents quietly onto the bed.

Around five small scrolls fell from the bag, along with small food supplies, smoke bombs, and a small compartment of paper. He never really had to use kunai, shuriken, or swords thanks to his bloodline, so his bag would be much lighter than the average shinobi. Opening the scroll marked 'Water' he began to read. Yes, at least this abduction gave him something to do other than wait for the trash to wake up and search for him.

After a few hours, reaching 3 AM, he had done well with the water scroll, learning the Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone) by using glasses filled with water as a water source. Sadly, the clone couldn't use his Shikotsumyaku. The only reason he bothered to learn it at all was because it was a dire emergency and thus, since his chakra element was apparently aligned with water (he attributed it to his calm personality), he chose this particular skill so that while he scouted the area for possible escape routes, his clone would be acting in his place, sleeping. Standing up, he performed the seal.

"**Mizu Bunshin**!" and with that, a literal copy of Kimimaro melted into existence from a glass of water to stand in front of him. Getting to the point, as his leadership of the Sound Five once required, he gave his orders.

"You…will remain in this bed, posing as being asleep. Do not let the trash here know that you are fake. Understood?" He questioned, receiving a nod. He internally smiled. Why couldn't his former comrades be as willing as clones were? Shaking his head, he decided to look for possible escape routes by exiting out the window…and holding the sill in shock as he soon realised that he was quite high…inside a castle to be precise. Looking upwards, he spotted the top of a tower. Thinking, he channelled chakra to his feet and prepared to run up the side of the building, reaching the top quickly. When he reached the huge rooftop, he gazed over the balcony to see where he was. Apparently, he was in a huge stone built castle surrounded by forest trees, and…a genjutsu? Wait. This was too strong a genjutsu that he could break, for the amount of energy placed into it was enough to rival even Orochimaru in power…not that he would ever say such things about his former lord, for nobody was stronger than him.

Getting off topic, he shook his head before exploring for a while. He observed a rather large lake a little way from the castle, and a huge foreboding forest with thousands of dead trees. Yes, this forest would provide a good path…but it would be better to rest up at that hospital ward and set out the next day, for his disease was acting up again, causing him to cough a small amount of blood.

The next day…

Many students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had gathered outside the hospital wing, with some having injuries and some just coming with their injured friends to cut class. A majority of them had, however arrived from what their parents told them, to see the newly found Harry Potter, the Boy-who-lived.

Soon, the hospital matron had got tired of the annoying commotion outside and moved to the door to see why there was so much noise going on in what was supposed to be a peaceful environment. Opening the door, she was greeted by what looked like a dozen students, with only a quarter of them injured. Letting out an angry sigh, she yelled at the crowd.

"Would you all be silent? This is a medical wing, not a circus! You, injured students, get in here while the others go back to class!" She yelled as the group split up grumbling about 'batty women' and 'killjoy's'. Scoffing, she began to treat some of the injured.

Kimimaro sighed. The howl of that old banshee and the excited squeals of those kids had awakened him and he was slightly cranky. He still couldn't understand a goddamned word that any of them were saying and it was starting to tick him off, making him wonder if he would be able to escape his prison and kill all of the trash occupying it. He groaned a little in agitation, attracting the attention of the old nurse, who gasped and said something in her language before leaving in a hurry…how foolish, leaving injured children here to go and make a call, not very professional…

He idly looked on in very concealed amusement as the kids, roughly aged 11 or 12, were looking at him in amazement. He realised that he must be a rather foreign concept to them, as they were to him. He watched with annoyance as they huddled and began gossiping in their annoying unknown language.

"Woah…that guy looks kinda cool." Commented the black haired boy with red-rimmed robes.

"He's hot…" Came the voice of a thirteen-year-old girl with long black hair and a blue-rimmed robe. She was even drooling slightly because his shirt had fallen to his waist revealing his upper body, which caused her companions to look at her funny for her drool landed on the collar of her robe, prompting her to scrub it clean.

"He's got white hair…" another male student in green-rimmed robes commented with slight disdain, getting a smack from the girl, who said 'It makes him look hotter!' which got nods of agreement from some of the other girls on the crowd. While he was amused by their actions, he was also getting annoyed with their chatter, which he couldn't understand.

"What, in the name of Orochimaru-sama, are you saying?" He said, causing some to look at him in confusion while some of the girls looked on in adoration for some reason.

"Even though I don't know what he's saying, his voice is so sexy!" One of the bold girls with a yellow-rimmed robe called out, earning groans from the boys.

"Isn't he a little old for you? You're like what, 12?" One of the older girls said to the young bolder girl.

"Age means nothing in love!" She yelled back. This started a minor brawl between the older and younger girls, with the guys yelling in approval.

Kimimaro was watching all of this with an impassive face. While he couldn't understand them, he just knew they were talking about him. About to snap in annoyance once more, he heard the door creak open and from it emerged…that old trash that abducted him! He tensed up, preparing an attack.

Dumbledore frowned as he watched the white haired boy tense up. He knew he should have had the ward sectioned off for a few days to give the boy time to adjust to his new surroundings but against his judgement, he relented. Watching sadly at the boy, who still looked at him with that unnerving steel gaze with carefully concealed malice, he wondered if he had made the right choice? I mean, he did kidnap the boy from his home just to dump him into a world where he would be confused and hostile, unable to understand the language that his parents once spoke when they were alive. Thinking back to the old days he remembered the boy looking like a spitting image of his father when he was first born, spiky black hair and all. Now, he looked nothing like them, being a white haired Japanese boy who had Lily's eyes. He dreaded what he was going to have to explain to the boy's godfather. He paused in his line of thought. Where was Sirius anyway? He thought the man would have wanted to be the first person to see his godson.

With the man in question…

Sirius was drunk off his ass right now in some muggle town; he couldn't remember the name. He had been celebrating the return of his godson with Remus and a few of his old auror colleagues. He never thought he would be able to do this again, after he was sentenced to Azkaban. Luckily Dumbledore found him and helped him prove his innocence after he tried to kill Peter the traitor rat, who was acting as a pet to the Weasley boy, Ronald. He had managed to get enough evidence to start a man hunt for Peter, after evidence pointed him as a criminal and not him, and also his own search for his godson.

Now, while he was happy, he also felt fear after he saw the way the boy had brutally executed the Death Eaters, hell the crowd looked at him like it was an everyday occurrence! What the hell happened to result in his godson being sent to such a place? He initially thought Albus had hidden him away for safety but that turned out to be a lie when the man said he sent the boy to his Aunt and Uncle, Petunia and Vernon. Sirius didn't know who they were personally, so he was surprised when he was greeted with hostility at the front door, saying that they 'got rid of the brat in some foreign country' as soon as he landed on their doorstep. Sirius became quite enraged and viciously assaulted Vernon, breaking his left leg and right arm in multiple places. He then returned to Albus to yell at him for leaving his godson with monsters, and took up the search that eventually bore fruit.

He could tell Remus was the same, although he was more drunk than him and chatting up the waitress, causing Nymphadora to glare at him and the waitress before moodily returning to her drink, making Sirius laugh.

Moody apparently was ecstatic with what 'Harry' had done to the Death Eaters, much to everyone else's chagrin. He was talking to Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"I tell ya, lad! That boy is a soldier, and a ruddy damned good one too! Would have killed to have had someone like that with me on the field. Makes me wish I could use my bones like that but all I gots is this eye." He gestured to the large spinning fake eye that seemed to stare at everyone.

He decided that he would meet with his godson at a later date, when they had hopefully found a cure for his disease, and the boy would hopefully be more hospitable than when they found him. He continued drinking into the night.

Back with Kimimaro…

The students had been cleared out so that the headmaster could have a chat with the white haired boy on his own. Kimimaro, having enough of these annoyances, fired a Tenshi Sendan at the man, just missing so that he could show how irked he was. The bullet careened and slammed into a wall behind the man, cracking it slightly.

"Alright, you had better explain yourself." He said in a calm ordering voice. "Who are you? And why have you abducted me?"

The man regained his bearings after seeing the deadly bullet crash into the wall behind him and gave the boy his patented grandfather smile that, to his disappointment, did nothing to change the boy's expression. Performing a translation charm on himself, he prepared for communication.

"Hello there young man, my name is Albus Dumbledore in answer to your first question." He said as he watched the boy mull over the strange name. "And the second question…abduction? We just brought you here for treatment for your illness." He finished. Now, Albus wasn't stupid. Far from it in fact, for he realised that calling the teen 'Harry' would likely provoke a negative reaction like last time. He did notice the boy go slightly wide-eyed and calm down slightly.

"…While I am grateful for your assistance, I do not remember mentioning anything about an illness…" Kimimaro drawled, causing Dumbledore to flinch and Kimimaro to narrow his eyes a little.

"I had taken the liberty of monitoring the flow of your stay here in the hospital wing so something as serious as a debilitating disease would no doubt be brought to my attention." He watched as the boy nodded slowly in reluctant understanding. "I hope that you haven't been given too much grief from our more…curious students at our establishment."

"They are…mild irritations at best. It would help if they could communicate with me like you can, Dumbledore-san." He said, fumbling a little on the name. "Besides, what is this place anyway?" He questioned.

Dumbledore smiled proudly. "This, my dear boy, is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He watched as Kimimaro looked blankly at him.

"…Do you honestly take me for a fool? Such things are mere child stories." He scoffed and Albus chuckled, seemingly expecting such a reaction. He pulled out his wand to give a demonstration, with the boy tensing at the sight of the stick.

"Do not fear, I will do nothing to you, my boy, just watch…" Albus said. He soon mumbled a word that Kimimaro couldn't understand and waved the stick in a swish and flick pattern. He was shocked when he saw the plant pot next to his bed raise off the ground a few feet into the air.

"What was that? Some kind of telekinesis jutsu?" he questioned, causing the old man to raise an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry? Jutsu?" The old man questioned snapping Kimimaro's attention, which was on the plant pot to the man. Internally debating on giving info out, he came to the decision of revealing a vague explanation.

"A jutsu…is similar to that technique you used only we do not use sticks." He said and the man frowned at calling the wands sticks. "It allows the people of my nation to perform feats using an energy called chakra that no normal man can accomplish." He finished, with the man seemingly pacified.

"This, my boy, is Magic…" He said, getting a raised eyebrow from Kimimaro. "If you would like, I could enrol you here in this establishment to learn the art, although I may have to get someone to tutor you as you are older than a first year and will be placed in at least third…" He said and Kimimaro crossed his arms.

'Hmm…this source of energy is nothing like chakra…perhaps it would be a good idea to learn it, I could surprise my enemies…and use it to improve my bloodline limit.' He came to a decision.

"Very well, Dumbledore-san, I accept your offer." He paused and glared at the old man. "However…next time, don't send incompetent trash to spy on me like the one in the corner under a Genjutsu…" He fired another Tenshi Sendan near the spy and watched the old man's eyes go wide a little and someone flinch in surprise from the corner. How did he see through an invisibility cloak? He didn't get time to finish as Kimimaro already left the room.

"…And I didn't even get his name." He said, wondering what to call 'Harry' now that his original name was apparently forgotten in time. Looking down, he saw a small scrap of paper on the floor. It read: 'My name is Kaguya, Kimimaro… remember it well trash.'

Kimimaro was wondering the grounds of the castle called Hogwarts, observing the area. He would need to keep up his training regiment to remain in shape for he would simply refuse to let his skills dull. He remembered the name he had left on the card to the old man with his name. He didn't want to use the name Kaguya as he loathed it but he couldn't think of anything else.

Stepping into a clearing, he prepared to begin his training. Spawning bones from his upper arms he prepared to attack a tree with graceful sword strikes, indenting the tree with numerous scars and slashes. Backing off, he ascended to his first level curse seal, resulting in black line markings emerging from the tattoo at the base of his throat. Bones seemingly sprouted from a majority of his body and he began to spin at very fast speeds towards another tree, cutting it off quickly resulting in a loud thud to echo the area. He decided not to ascend to level two for it might endanger him, with him recovering slowly from his disease.

As he trained over two hours, he was interrupted by an owl of all things that dropped a letter addressed to him at his feet. Now, being a shinobi, Kimimaro was quite suspicious of things landing near him, which were usually explosives or weapons, so he poked it a little with his foot. Seeing apparently nothing wrong with the letter, he opened it and read it.

_To Kimimaro,_

I have forgotten to mention that you will have to make your way to Diagon Alley, a shopping district, to collect your supplies needed for the year with Hagrid, our gamekeeper. Your tutor will meet you a month before school term starts so have fun! Enclosed is a list of the necessary equipment.

_Albus Dumbledore,_

_Hogwarts Headmaster_

Looking at the attached list and directions, Kimimaro frowned. He didn't know what half of the stuff on the list even was. Sighing unhappily, he wandered to find this 'Hagrid' person. He didn't have to look far as he spotted the huge man from the description. He walked up to him.

"Excuse me, sir?" He said and the man turned to him confused, until he suddenly had an epiphany and swallowed a purple pill.

"Yes? Are you the one Professor Dumbledore asked me to collect?" He spoke in fluent Japanese, thanks to the pill he got from Albus, because he was technically forbidden to use magic. It would wear off later though…

"Yes, that is me. I am Kaguya Kimimaro. I trust that you will be my escort?" He questioned receiving a happy nod as the man walked off with Kimimaro following.

At the Alley…

Kimimaro was awed slightly at the sight, though it was concealed in an emotionless mask. The Alley was certainly an impressive sight, as it literally glowed with life, unlike many places in the Elemental countries. He saw quite a few strangely dressed people buying various things with strange names. Shaking his head in amusement, he asked Hagrid to help find the items on the list. The man seemed all too happy to help but told him he had to get the wand himself as he was banned from the store for some reason he didn't explain.

Walking into the store, he was assaulted by a variety of strong smells, namely dust and wood. He was about to walk up to the counter when, sensing a presence behind him, he pulled out a bone sword only to see a stunned looking old man with pale eyes looking at him with a strange gleam that, for some reason, reminded him of Kabuto when he was dissecting some unlucky bastard. The man slowly ambled to the counter.

"What an extraordinary ability you have, Mr. Kaguya…" He commented, causing the boy to tense up as to how this man knew his name. "Albus told me everything so I think I know what to expect…please follow me." He said as the boy warily did so. Entering the room, he gestured for Kimimaro to stand on a pedestal while he did all sorts of crazy measurements that baffled Kimimaro as he wondered what they were for. When asking this, the man replied 'It keeps people distracted, while I find the right wand'. Yes, this man even had Kabuto's sick sense of humour…perhaps they were related?

The process was taking a while and he was getting annoyed but the man, Olivander, was getting more excited. He suddenly fixed Kimimaro with an eerie gaze.

"Hmm…after trying these wands, which have no effect…and that bone ability…hmm…yes that might do…" He mumbled as he moved over to the back and grabbed a white case from the slot. For some reason, Kimimaro felt a strange connection. The white haired teen stared in concealed awe as the box opened to reveal a wand that looked eerily similar to one his bone swords but had small black lines darting up to the tip. Holding it reverently, he handed it to Kimimaro.

"…One of my oldest wands in stock that is, made from the lower forearm of a Bone Devil, an apparently tricky fiend it was…I am unsure of its other properties as I inherited it from my grandfather…"

Kimimaro grasped the handle and watched as a purple energy swirled around him, giving a warm feeling that seemed to make his disease feel weaker. He looked at the old man.

"You're probably wondering, how this has calmed down your disease?" he questioned, getting a tense nod. "Seeing as it has aligned itself to you, the wand will alleviate the effects as long as you hold it on your person." Kimimaro looked stunned before nodding, still in shock. Leaving the shop in a daze, he didn't realise until the last minute that he had bumped into someone.

"Oh!" He heard the feminine gasp of surprise and looked down. The girl was younger than him, by around a year. She had long dirty blonde hair and had strange earrings. She also had a necklace made up of the same material. Her pale blue eyes looked up at him, and he offered a hand, which was taken.

"Thank you…I hope that your daze wasn't caused by Nargles. They are nasty little blighters, you know." The girl said in a dreamy voice, with Kimimaro looking in confusion.

"I'm sorry? What did you say?" He said and the girl seemed to realise he was speaking Japanese before switching to his language.

"Is this better?" She questioned in the foreign tongue, causing Kimimaro to look in surprise that someone could talk his language without using any kind of strange drug. "Where are my manners? I'm Luna. Lovegood Luna." She said, placing her last name before her first in the custom of the language.

"…Kaguya Kimimaro." He introduced with a mild bow to the girl, getting a smile in return.

"Are you going to Hogwarts? You look rather old for a first year…" She commented, getting a nod in return.

"…I will be getting a tutor so that I will be prepared to enter the third year..." He replied and the girl smiled.

"Oh! You'll be in the same year as me then! I hope we can be friends…" She trailed off a little at the end. Kimimaro got the impression that she was a lonely person judging by how people seemed to avoid her and the looks of amusement they gave her. It reminded him a lot of his time in the orphanage in Kirigakure, where others would steer clear of him because of his anti-social nature. He came to a decision.

"…I would like to be your friend, Luna-san." He said and the girl looked surprised before giving him a large smile.

"Thank you! Oh dear, look at the time! Father must be getting worried, I'll see you at Hogwarts, bye Kimimaro!" She called as she ran off down the street.

Kimimaro raised an eyebrow. Perhaps there were some worthwhile people amongst the trash…

"Ready to go, Kimimaro?" Came the call from Hagrid, which lead the two to the room he would stay at where his tutor would visit.

After settling in to his personalised apartment, he looked around. It was reminiscent of some of the hotels he stayed at in the Elemental Nations. The walls were decorated with scroll hangings and his bed was a futon. His kotatsu table sat on the floor, with cushions surrounding it. Yes, this would do nicely…

A few days later, he heard a knock on his door. Opening it revealed a man with longish brown hair and amber eyes dressed in a brown trench coat with a business suit underneath. He smiled at Kimimaro and extended his hand.

"You must be Kimimaro… it's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Remus Lupin and I will be instructing you in magic." The boy replied a greeting and welcomed the man inside…

A few weeks later…

Kimimaro stood at the platform of 9 ¾. Strange people with their names for things…well, at least he could understand them a bit better now thanks to his lessons in English with Lupin-sensei. Shaking his head, he lifted his trunk with ease and moved closer to the large impressive red steam engine.

"Kimimaro!" He heard his name called, and turned to see Luna running up to him. Next to her was a man in a yellow kimono…and pink hair. Looking questioningly at the girl, she elaborated for him.

"Oh yes! Kimimaro, this is my father. Father, this is my friend that I told you about, Kimimaro." She said to the man as he offered a hand in greeting, which was returned.

"It's always nice to meet Luna's friends. My name is Xenophilius Lovegood. Please be nice to Luna…she is quite lonely." He finished sadly and out of her earshot, which Kimimaro nodded to him in understanding.

"It was nice meeting you, sir." He said and followed an unusually energetic Luna onto the train, not seeing the amused smile play out on Xeno's face.

"Hmm…I approve." He hummed out loud before leaving.

On the train…

Luna had guided him into one of the carriages near the back. Kimimaro looked out the window and observed the scenery. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Luna reading a newspaper, called 'The Quibbler' of all things. Luna, seeing his look, asked if he wanted to read. Shrugging, he took the newspaper and flicked through.

He went wide-eyed. This…was a giant puzzle acting as a newspaper. After carefully reading it, he took the first letter to spell out the hidden message.

Hello Kimimaro, Take Care Of Luna, Xeno…Now that was brilliant. To be able to hide a message in a newspaper like this was something that only a shinobi might think of. Luna seemed quite happy that he had figured it out.

"Most people think that its garbage…" She commented. While he had to agree somewhat, as the stories made no sense to him, he didn't see them as trash. He actually found them a little humorous.

"It would be wise of you to ignore the thoughts of trash…" He said and he watched Luna look at him in surprise. What a strange boy he was…

The food cart lady who opened the door and offered them snacks, which Kimimaro refused tensely as he almost fired a bone bullet at the interruption. Luna however ordered one of everything and she had seen the bone that was halfway out of his finger.

"Are you injured? Your bone is sticking out…" She said as he frowned and shook his head.

"It…is an ability that only I can use…it allows me to manipulate my skeletal structure…it is called the Shikotsumyaku, or in English, the Dead Bone Pulse." He summarised and watched as the girl studied him under her inquisitive gaze.

"That is unusual…I've never heard of such a thing…perhaps father would know…" She said.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Kimimaro actually fired a bone bullet, grazing the cheek of a blonde haired boy around his age and impaling into the wall of the train. The boy looked between him and the smashed wall, and ran off with the two gorilla like humanoids trailing slowly behind. Luna was inspecting the bullet when it suddenly melted, fading into the air. Looking up at him, Kimimaro decided to give an answer.

"If I leave them without energy…they will vanish." He said, not really wanting to talk about the bloodline. As he left the carriage as Luna was changing into her robes, he frowned at the uniform he had to wear. According to the list, he had to have a long tight robe that had no use as far as he could see, Tight black pants, and dress shoes. The shoes he had no problem with for he remembered the few business calls in Otogakure where he had to wear fancy clothing to impress the client. He had actually had his uniform custom designed thanks to the money that he was given to spend from Hagrid. It wasn't that much of a difference as everything was looser, a little larger and allowed comfortable movement. Hell, he could shrug the robe off quite easily, exposing the shoulders of collared shirt he wore. The sleeves slightly reached over his hands like his casual outfit. He vowed that he would only wear this for lesson time only. Other times it would just be his regular outfit.

After the two had changed into their uniforms, Kimimaro more reluctant, they had been let off the train to marvel at the castle, except Kimimaro who had been their already and Luna, who was looking around with that dreamy smile on her face. They were soon huddled in with a group of students as Hagrid guided them into a giant hall that had four large tables and a staff table. He idly watched Luna move to the table with the blue rimmed robe wearers, wondering what was going to happen as he leaned against the wall.

As some of the students were preparing their appearance for whatever was going to happen, with the old stern woman looking at his loose uniform with distaste, not that he cared what the trash thought of him…

Oh? The old woman had brought out a stool and…a dirty looking old hat. Questioning the sanity of these 'wizards', he was more than surprised and nearly flung a Tenshi Sendan when the old hat spoke through a crease in what he assumed was its mouth and started singing some strange tune along with the out of time students, causing a headache to grow.

Finally the old man, Dumbledore, stood up and announced that they would be sorted into separate houses…strange people. The names were just as strange, for they were classed with the icons of a lion, a snake, a badger, and a raven...

Their names were called up from a list in the old woman's hand. When it finally came to his turn, the old man beckoned her to listen to him. Whispering in her ear and her sending him wide-eyed looks, she regained her bearings and read his name. Many looked slack jawed at the tall teenager. Indeed, one didn't see too many white/silver haired young people in their age but it was quite common in the Elemental Nations for some reason. He sat gingerly on the wooden stool and the hat was placed over his head.

Kimimaro went wide-eyed when he felt his mind being invaded by a foreign presence. He was about to assault said presence when it calmed him down a little with his response.

"Don't worry, lad…just have to look around so I can sort you…" Came the voice of the hat. No, Kimimaro wasn't happy with this but he had been through enough that the hat should be able to tell…he didn't want to go to the snake house for reasons that he felt he didn't deserve the emblem of such a magnificent creature.

"Hmm…You have no sense of adventure nor do you rush into things so Gryffindor's out. While you show loyalty bordering religious zealotry to the one known as Orochimaru, it was heavily damaged recently, so Hufflepuff is also out. You think that belonging to the house of Slytherin would disgrace your former lord so that's also out. Oh well, here's hoping you do well in…"

"RAVENCLAW!" The hat cried, prompting clapping from the table in blue. He quickly removed the hat, and walked to the table, sitting next to Luna. As he waited for the hat to finish its job on the others he took note of the people staring at him. Using his new found language skills, he would put them off.

"Why do you stare at me, trash?" He said in a deep English voice instead of the Japanese tongue that he was accustomed to, causing the others to redirect their eyes elsewhere. Luna was oblivious to all this as she moved to eat the food, with Kimimaro eyeing it in distaste.

'So much fatty foods…Do these people not take care of themselves at all?' he thought as, even though his emotionless mask was on, he felt like throwing up at the way some of them were eating. Hell, on the table with red, Gryffindor or something, he saw a redhead boy trying to eat a combination of different meats at once, slobbering slightly.

"Manner-less trash…" He whispered and Luna looked at him in confusion, then saw his eyes dart to the redhead. She grimaced a little through her dreamy haze.

"That is Ronald Weasley…I used to be friends with his younger sister, Ginerva." She commented in a low enough voice for him to hear. It would seem that she was not overly fond of the family of apparent redheads…

After the old man made some announcements, he moved onto the subject of the large cup that had taken the place of the Sorting Hat. Many students started to blabber to themselves about a Tri-wizard something or other…

"As you can see, new and old students, Hogwarts will be playing host to an event called the Tri-Wizard tournament, a sporting contest between Hogwarts and our rivals, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. We hope that those who choose to enter, can respectfully represent Hogwarts and to discourage any cheating." After that, Kimimaro watched as a torrent of students wrote their names on paper tried to place their names in the cup, which seemed to glow different colours as some had grown full length beards not too dissimilar to Dumbledore's. As he was watching the scene, he never noticed the sets of eyes observing him, or if he did know but was ignoring them.

Minerva watched as the boy she was told was Harry Potter, now Kimimaro Kaguya, looked on with boredom as the students raced to the cup in the hopes of glory or money. She found it quite hard to believe that this boy was the son of her former students. The only thing he had in common was Lily's eyes, with absolutely nothing from his father, James. She would have expected the youth to have the Potter Family Curse at least, rendering the boy to glasses like his father but alas, it did not surface. She sighed when she watched the boy get sorted into the house of Ravenclaw and sat next to the Lovegood girl. She had hoped that he would be in her house, like his parents were. Oh well, at least being in Filius Flitwick's house was better than Severus Snape's. She watched said brooding man out of the corner of her eyes as he was seemingly scanning the crowd for something.

Severus Snape was not having a good day. First, he had been woken up by a rather noisy house-elf that had smashed a vial of some potion he concocted, coating the little bastard in the liquid causing boils to appear and screaming to ensue. After taking the little bugger to the hospital wing, he decided to get to work grading the students' useless assignments that would no doubt be failures in the art of potion making. This was distracted by the prank of those devil children, the Weasley twins, who drugged his morning coffee, causing him to land up in the toilet for a good two hours. Oh he cursed those troublesome (cue sneeze from Shikamaru) little whelps! Wishing to hang them in the dungeons by their toes while throwing his failed potions at them in a morbid game of human darts. He sighed and looked around the hall, looking sharply at the new students. His eyes rested on the 15-year-old with white hair, red dots on his forehead, and…those eyes. The eyes that always reminded him of that woman he once loved but was taken by that loathsome bastard James Potter. Lily Evans, for he would refuse to acknowledge her as a Potter, was the love of his life and he always regretted that moment he ended their friendship over such an immature matter. Shaking his head to clear those thoughts, he took his gaze off the strange boy and looked at the other people.

Filius Flitwick, a man who was said to have goblin blood in him due to his minuscule size was quite excited. Even though his name wasn't Harry Potter, he had the son of his best student in his house! Yes, hopefully he had his mothers hunger for knowledge that made her into the genius she was…

Albus sighed a little. He had wanted Kimimaro to go to the house his parents were in to increase the boy's sense of adventure in the house of Lions. Nevertheless, he wasn't too picky, even though he requested the hat do it and told him the boys true identity, it placed him in a house where he would hopefully flourish like his parents, and that made him happy.

Kimimaro sighed yet again. They were completely fascinated by a cup of all things! What was wrong with these people? That cup would be a dangerous weapon if he could have the flames ignite permanently…

As he pondered his thoughts, he felt someone tugging on his long arm sleeve. Turning his head, he saw Luna offering him a salad and he smiled briefly. At least some people knew how to eat…

Soon after the meal was finished, Dumbledore announced that the other schools would be arriving in 1 ½ months, and that Quidditch, some sport he imagined, was cancelled for the duration. This caused bursts of outrage from most male students, especially two redhead twins that had to be related to the trash that had no manners.

Soon after the meal, Luna guided him to the 'common room', a place where the students would stay in between lessons or free time. With Luna opening the common room with the answer to a riddle from the guardian, she led him into the homely looking setting.

Blue and bronze was decorated everywhere, even the bookcases…all 20 of them surrounding the circular library next to the living quarters. Wow…there was enough books here to rival Orochimaru-sama's jutsu collection. She tugged his sleeve again to get his attention and drifted him towards a spiral stone staircase.

"The boy's dorms are up there…I hope you enjoy it here." She smiled and Kimimaro nodded at her, watching as she went to a staircase on the other side of the room, presumably the girl's dorms.

As he slept on the highly uncomfortable bed as he was used to sleeping on a futon, he realised that he would have to start training tomorrow. Frowning, he got up from the horrible mattress and looked at the clock, which read 4 AM. Sighing a little, he dressed in his casual clothes and went outside. As he moved to leave the common room, he failed to notice the pale blue eyes watching him.

He sat on the roof of the Ravenclaw Tower, looking at the stars. Yes, this would be his new favourite area. As he looked out into the night sky, he thought to himself.

'I wonder…did the vessel make it to Orochimaru-sama? And what about the others that were with me…did they die? Hmph…should have gone and killed them myself, the useless trash.' He finished thinking scornfully of his former comrades in the Sound Five.

He decided to get a few bits of training done now by summoning a group of Mizu Bunshin and, using his Tenshi Sendan and his Yanagi no Mai, the bone bullets and Dance of the Willow respectively, he engaged the clones in battle. Graceful sword strokes broke through the clones in a matter of seconds, causing him to summon more and repeat.

"This…is…My…KEKKEI GENKAI!" He roared between slashes as he tore through the last of the clones that he could summon unless he faced exhaustion. Besides, he could feel his Curse seal of Earth cry to be used, which he would the next day. Clearing up the mess he made, he turned around…to se Luna staring with wider eyes than normal. He had guessed she had seen his display there.

"That was…not magic was it?" She questioned, getting a nod from Kimimaro, who responded.

"That…is one of the many abilities that come with my genetic condition that I showed you on the train." He explained vaguely. The girl looked intrigued as she then proceeded to pull him back inside by the sleeve of his lavender tunic, which had fallen around his waist.

As he lie in his bed, Kaguya Kimimaro couldn't shake the feeling that something bad would be occurring soon, to end his currently peaceful, if filled with trash, life.

**End of Chapter 2**

**Okay, that's it for the second chapter! Thank you all for the reviews. Now I will answer some question(s):**

**Q: Why does Harry have the Kaguya Bloodline?**

**A: I knew I would get this at one point after seeing it in Harry-is-Haku reviews. The answer will be revealed in a small flashback section in the next chapter, so please be patient okay?**

PS: Sorry about the previous uploads repeat of the bloodline explanation. I honestly didn't know it at first - Endogetsu


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow I got nearly double reviews for the second chapter! You guys must like this a lot. **

**Yeah, I fixed that problem with the repeated explanation on the bloodline so no worries and thanks for bringing it to my attention, I honestly only noticed it when I read it in the reviews. Well…I suck at this summary crap so I'll just cut straight to the chapter. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 3**

The sun was quite bright in the early hours of the morning where everyone was asleep. As we look around, we see a huge castle surrounded by forests and mountainous regions. The sound of bone hitting bark echoed through the area, which came from a clearing in the Forbidden Forest.

Kimimaro, despite his lack of facial expressions, was enjoying himself. He was actually training now, properly and with no annoying trash to stop him. Yes, picking this place was the best idea he had since he got her because, for some reason he didn't care about, the students were afraid of this area. He didn't see what there was to be afraid of. Sure, normal people would be scared of huge ass spider creatures trying to devour you. Some people might be scared of those half-horse half-men things. But these people were not Kaguya Kimimaro, for he feared none. Hell, he just gored a couple of the spiders, which made him reminisce about his former 'comrade' Kidomaru, with his Tessenka no Mai: Hana. The horsemen things didn't bother him too much after what they saw him do to the bugs. Yes, life was good. Suddenly, bones sprouted from multiple parts of his body.

"**Karamatsu no Mai**!" The insanely fast spinning of the technique knocked a couple of trees over and a few of the leftover bug remains to fly into the air. He then switched to his Yanagi no Mai and proceeded to gracefully slash up various different inhabitants of the forest. He idly noticed one of his Tenshi Sendan's lodged into the leg of one of the spiders, which caused him to ponder to himself about how he got his bloodline.

Flashback~~~~~

"_Kimimaro, come here!" The clan patriarch of the Kaguya clan called the 5-year-old Kimimaro and the two began to walk together down the halls of the clan house. They stopped at a door about halfway down._

"_Kimimaro, while you are constantly improving, the results are not enough. I am afraid that you will be unable to join us in the battle to destroy Kirigakure." Kimimaro's eyes bugged out._

"_W-why? Am I not strong enough? Please, I can be strong, let me fight!" Kimimaro yelled in response. The clan head then slammed his hand into the nearby wall._

"_NO MEANS NO!" He yelled…wait. Perhaps there was a way the boy could help him…Yes, if he could just give him the clan bloodline somehow, the boy would be able to skyrocket everyone! His own personal little bone-wielding weapon! None would be able to top that! Kiri would fall!_

_The problem was that no one had been seen with the Shikotsumyaku for years in the clan. The only way would be…to get the remains of the last user from the supply cabinet they kept and have Kimimaro somehow consume them by perhaps sneaking them into his meals. This was risky, for the boy might not be able to use it…no, he would make sure he could, he was a Kaguya dammit!_

"_Kimimaro." He said, gaining the boy's attention. "You say you want to fight? Well, I may have a solution that could help the both of us." Here the boy looked thrilled at being of use. Yes, this boy would be the ultimate weapon of the Kaguya, he would make sure._

_The implantation of the remains was a success and Kimimaro had become a full-fledged member of the Kaguya clan, red dots above the eyes and even the same zigzag parting in his white hair. He then forced the boy into a rigorous training regime in the Kaguya clan dungeons. Only letting the boy come out to eat and train and practice his bloodline, which surfaced when he was 6. That was the policy of the clan, to constantly perfect your body into the ultimate fighting machine. _

_Soon, the clan head began to feel fear and paranoia. Fear because the boy was growing stronger, even more so than him, and had become little more than an emotionless rock. While this was what he wanted, a soldier to do his bidding, he couldn't help but feel the sting of paranoia as he constantly thought the boy would stab him with a bone sword in the back. It was this fear that made him not tell Kimimaro about the invasion that was happening that day and kept him locked in the cell permanently, never letting him out, even for food which was now brought to him._

_He would realise his mistake on that day…the day the Kaguya clan ceased to exist…_

End Flashback~~~~

Not wanting to focus on the past, Kimimaro shook his head out of his daze. It was getting close to the first lesson anyway, so he had to head back and get changed into his uniform.

As he left the common room after getting changed, he felt someone tugging on his sleeve, looking down he saw the smiling face of Luna.

"Good Morning! I hope that the Nargles didn't cause another daze for you again…" She said in that dreamy voice. Kimimaro still had no idea what the hell a 'Nargle' or a 'Wrackspurt' even was. He just passed it off as one of her strange quirks, he guessed. Many people he knew had weirder habits. Kidomaru often talked in video game slang that he didn't even bother trying to understand and Tayuya could out-curse even the foulest mouth of a sailor.

"Luna-san, do you know where the classroom for…charms, is?" He asked in Japanese because he preferred his home language. He wasn't going to conform for anybody. Luna nodded and dragged him by his sleeve to the designated room. Normally, he would have given someone a Tessenka no Mai: Hana up the ass for dragging him, but he had become familiar enough with the girl that she wouldn't just grab and run, just stroll.

However, the peaceful walk would be distracted, as they were interrupted by that blonde boy and his stooges from the train.

"Well well well! Look who we have here! It's that bone freak from the train!" The boy said haughtily. "Bet your not so big now, with so many people watching us!" He said as he gestured to the surrounding students staring at them. He then looked at his companion.

"…And your travelling with Looney! This is great, this is-" He didn't finish his sentence as Kimimaro had grabbed him by the throat, yanking him into the air. Looking at him with his patented cold impassive gaze, he would set this vermin straight.

"Let me make one thing clear to you, trash." The boy in his grip looked angry. "I may not be able to kill you thanks to that old man…but he never said anything about bodily harm." He said as the boy paled. Suddenly, Kimimaro had hurled him over his head and sent him crashing into the wall, indenting it slightly and rendering the boy unconscious. He turned to look at the brutish bodyguards of the boy, who were frozen with fear because of his killing intent.

"Take that trash away from my sight. Such a pathetic creature doesn't deserve to see my Bloodline limit…" He said as the two gorilla boys quickly ran to the fallen blonde and carried him away. Before they left however, Kimimaro gave them a message.

"Come near me again or my friend again…" He said in monotone as a bone sword erupted from his palm. "And I may just ignore the old man's warning and eradicate you pests myself." The boys paled and nodded quickly in gratitude at being spared his wrath. He turned to Luna.

"Are you alright?…" He questioned, but the girl just kept staring at him and nodded slightly. If he paid closer attention, he would have seen the girl's cheeks tinged with pink slightly but it was barely noticeable.

The next few days passed by in a blur for Kimimaro as he attended the rather bizarre lessons. He was good at some things such as Potions (he learnt it a few times with Orochimaru-sama before), Transfiguration (Similar to a henge), and to a degree, Herbology (For Poisons) but he didn't like the Defence class at all. The teacher was some weird crippled man that had a fetish for using so-called 'Unforgivable curses'. He didn't know so much as to why they were unforgivable as it is the user, not the magic that determines its nature, much like chakra. The lesson was quite boring and the only kick he got out of it, which he covered up, was when that blonde boy he trounced earlier was forced to dance on a table. Other than that, it was pathetic as a defence lesson, the man was torturing them plain and simple, not showing how to actually defend from these curses, just inflicting them for fun. The foolish trash…

Charms class was…okay. He didn't have a good feel of it though, to the disappointment of the small teacher who looked like he was expecting more. He didn't see the point of a majority of them as they sounded more like childish pranks. The only one he could see that would be of use was charming the household items to work themselves. This would save him more time to train then…

His flying class was boring to say the least. Due to his firm believing that a broom should only be used for sweeping, the flying device reflected his attitude, causing the broom to wobble. He didn't bother with it in the end…It wasn't important to him anyway.

As he was heading back to the common room with Luna, who was amused with his attitude in Flying, Kimimaro heard that old mans voice reverberate through the halls.

"Attention students! This is Headmaster Dumbledore! Please make your way to the great hall as soon as possible, thank you!" That message repeated about five times till it finally shut up. As Kimimaro and Luna entered the hall, they were greeted by the hordes of students who were in a confused daze. Suddenly, the old man stood up.

"Students of Hogwarts, I ask that you revert your gazes to the windows, as our guests will soon be arriving." He said pleasantly as many students did so, while a few remained uninterested and remained seated, like Kimimaro.

"Wow! Look at that!" Came the excited cry from a first year.

"What the hell is that? Some kind of animal?" A second year questioned.

Things went like this until the thing came into view. Huge carriages were being pulled in the air by regal looking horse creatures. Soon, with a resounding thud, the horses landed on the grounds outside the castle. Dumbledore stood up.

"Come…let us go and welcome our guests." He said happily, as students groaned about going outside in the cold weather.

As they went outside, they were greeted by a large group of female students in light blue uniforms and a woman as large as Hagrid towered in front, wearing a similar uniform. The woman greeted Dumbledore with an accent Kimimaro hadn't heard before. (Note: I can't write the French accent so try to picture it okay?)

"Dumbledore! It is good to see you again!" She said as she hugged the smaller, older man who smiled under his obscenely long beard.

"Indeed, it has been far to long Olympe…we shall get acquainted later, my dear but for now… please, bring your students inside, they are looking rather cold." He gestured as the large woman named Olympe guided her students into the castle, to their relief, as it was quite cold and despite the old nasty looking castle they needed the warmth.

Soon after waiting for an ungodly amount of time that tested Kimimaro's patience to the limit, the last group finally turned up. Turning their gaze to the lake, due to a student informing them, they watched as the water bubbled before a huge old looking ship seemingly erupted from the lake, causing some muggleborn students to whisper about 'submarine' or something. From the boat, a small handful of people emerged from the cabins. Lead by a man with a goatee and weird hat, the students were dressed in cloaks with a fur rim. Must be cold where they're from…

After Dumbledore greeted the man, apparently named Igor Karkaroff, and had gestured everyone inside. Now that the students had joined the great hall, with the students of Beauxbatons sitting at the Ravenclaw table and the Durmstrang students at Slytherin. Kimimaro idly noted with concealed amusement that the blonde trash in Slytherin was trying and failing to strike up a conversation with, if he heard correctly, a flying celebrity called Viktor Krum. The older boy was obviously uninterested in the brat, as he constantly turned to observe everyone else in the crowd.

He noted from his own table, that the team leader for the broom sport Quidditch, along with many other boys, were trying to impress a blonde girl from Beauxbatons. Kimimaro narrowed his eyes when he detected a strange aura seeping off the girl, causing the men to fall at her feet and the women to glare, except for Luna who seemed as unaffected as he was. He attributed it to her dreamy attitude but his was different. In order for shinobi not to fall to the vices that claimed so many others, Orochimaru-sama had hired the 'services' of some women who would then try to tempt the shinobi, including him. Of course, he had quite good control of the hormones that come when reaching the adolescent stage in life so he was able to shrug off the effects. Although…some of the girls from Beauxbatons were looking at him…like the ones here at Hogwarts…great. Sighing, he returned to his meal.

After the dinner was completed, Dumbledore stood up and addressed the crowd of students. He then went on to explain about the flaming cup and how the guest students had to put their names in to participate. Unlike the students at Hogwarts, these ones were much calmer about it and just formed a line…how sensible. He had also noticed that the blonde girl from Beauxbatons had men cheering and women crying as she moved to the cup to place her name in.

As the days passed by and the time the cup would choose the representatives for each school drew closer, Kimimaro was constantly training in his clearing in the Forbidden Forest. Luna had insisted he take breaks due to the stress his regime was putting on his body. While he wanted to say otherwise, he knew she was right. So, he then spent roughly 2 hours with Luna doing random things, to keep his mind off training for a while.

He was baffled with the girl for her concern. No one had ever really been truly looking out for his well being before, so it was a new experience for him and he was unsure how he felt about it. Orochimaru-sama usually just told him to do things and he would do so without complaint…for he was the one who saved him from hell and he would have done anything in his power to make Orochimaru-sama's ambition come to fruit. But now, he had been discarded again…first by his adoptive father, and then his saviour…

He was shaken out of his thoughts by Luna, who tugged on his long sleeve and was telling him about the tournament he had heard the students go on about. Apparently it was some kind of competition that was held between the rival schools to boost relations or something. He didn't see how as he had heard that death was a high probability…wouldn't that make the relations worse if a foreign student was killed on Wizarding England's soil? That could start a war between countries…

He heard the names of the three champions being called out. The first was Hogwarts, who had a boy from the Hufflepuff house called Cedric Diggory, next from the Beauxbatons academy was the blonde girl, Fleur Delacour. Finally, the Durmstrang champion was the celebrity boy, Viktor Krum.

He had never bothered to put his name in the cup so imagine his surprise when his name was called out after the third champion. Many looked at him in confusion and some in rage, while he thought silently to himself for a second and Luna had ushered him to go with the teacher to the champion's room. As he walked into the room and leaned against the wall, the other occupants were looking at him in confusion. Then, a sports commentator called Ludo Bagman had come bundling in like he was high on sugar. He had then announced to the group that he, Kimimaro, was to be the Fourth Tri-Wizard champion. This led to everyone being led to Dumbledore's office to avoid the coming conflict.

Kimimaro was getting annoyed. These trash were pointlessly arguing over something that was a waste of time. Nothing could be done now that his name had somehow came out of the cup. There was a thought, who the hell put his name in there anyway? He spent nearly all his time training and hanging around Luna to get any time to do such a trivial task. Finally, he tuned back in to their argument.

"Look! He's not even saying anything in his defence!" Came the cry of Karkaroff. Kimimaro sighed.

"I have nothing to say to trash like you…cease your pointless prattle and accept that I am here." He said in monotone, which caused looks of surprise, rage, and laughter from Alastor Moody.

"Now, Kimimaro, please show Professor Karkaroff the respect he deserves." Dumbledore chided, which caused Kimimaro to glare at him next.

"Do not presume to order me, trash." He spat the insult with venom. "I do not care for such pathetic worms like him…or you." He said while turning around to leave, but left one final message.

"If you have a problem with me…then stay out of my way." He then drew a bone sword from his upper arm, to their surprise. "If you fail to realise this is a warning…I will kill you where you stand, trash." He said as he left the room, where the group started to argue again.

Leaving the room, he sighed at the fools who had presumed to order him. He decided to let off some steam by training with a Mizu Bunshin. He sighed again, as he mowed through the group of clones with a Karamatsu no Mai. While he didn't mind the training, fighting clones was beginning to get tiresome and easy. Hopefully this tournament would provide decent competition for him.

Luna had come to fetch him again for his breaks, which she insisted he take. The two spent the day telling each other about their pasts, although Kimimaro kept his to vague explanations so that not much was revealed. He had learned that Luna's mother, Selene Lovegood, had passed away in an accident when she was rather young, leaving the family as just her and her father. She had taken after his odd habits (so that was where they came from…) as she grew older. Somewhere along the line, her dreamy mask cracked a little, allowing him to see the girl underneath it. The poor girl coped with her grief by turning to her 'Nargles' or 'Wrackspurts' for comfort at the time. She was strong, Kimimaro concluded, to be able to deal with pain that was similar to when he was left behind by his father and Orochimaru-sama…no, it was just Orochimaru now, for he was no longer his lord. He then did something that surprised even himself…he hugged her, which caused her face to light up like a Christmas tree light. Pulling away slowly in confusion, he was going over in his mind wondering why he did that…he never hugged anyone before. Ever.

Looking at Luna, who was surprisingly red faced, he quickly said an apology before heading back to the common room to find the reasons for such a troublesome dilemma. Lying in his futon (he refused to sleep on such an uncomfortable bed), confusion would plague him throughout the night.

The next day…

This was it. This was the day that the first trial of the tournament would begin. He had heard from Hagrid that it was some kind of winged beast that he would be facing. He was excited even if he didn't show it. Finally! He would show the world to fear the Shikotsumyaku…

Looking at the other champions, he could see various emotions play on their faces. Cedric looked nervous, Fleur's hands were shaking slightly, and Viktor was scowling. Suddenly, Ludo had bundled in again bouncing…damn sugar fiend.

"Alright gentlemen…and lady!" He said. "In this bag here are four different statues, each portraying the beast you will be facing?" Kimimaro watched as the other three pulled out statues of winged lizard beasts. Ludo offered the bag to Kimimaro last and he pulled out the statue of a black winged creature with bone like ridges. He was shocked when the mini-statue moved and looked at him.

"Ohhh…looks like you've got the Hungarian Horntail!" He said with some dismay. Kimimaro stared blankly at it, then at Ludo who continued to go on about the order of who goes first. Kimimaro had chosen to go third, as he wanted time to prepare. Returning to the room where the champions were after a quick workout, he found that Fleur was holding onto a golden egg and she looked slightly ruffled. A few seconds later, Viktor came in staggering a little as he clutched a similar egg. Now, Kimimaro was thinking that these eggs must be some rite of passage to the next trial.

"Now, boys and girls, men and women, please give a round of applause to our third contestant representing Hogwarts, Kimimaro Kaguya!" He heard Ludo yell as he made his way into a rather large arena that was covered in a rough ground, with jagged rocks and other mountainous looking settings. He wasn't paying attention to that, more to the creature in the middle. The huge beast was of a size comparable to Manda, Orochimaru's snake summon. It looked at him with disdain before charging.

Kimimaro was getting irked. His bones weren't doing too well against this huge beast called a dragon. Sure, he had managed to get a few okay shots in, but not many could penetrate its thick hide. He came to a decision and leaned forward in a hunching position and released the first level of the Curse Seal, causing line markings to run around his body like a tribal tattoo.

Dumbledore narrowed his twinkling blue eyes at Kimimaro. What the boy had just done to himself was reeking of a foul energy that was similar to magic. This energy felt even more disgusting than Tom Riddle's did. Those ominous black lines practically bled the energy, seemingly increasing the boy's power.

"To think I had to use my Curse Seal of Earth…on trash like you." He commented to the dragon, who roared in rage. "I pity you…Yanagi no Mai!" With that cry, he pulled out twin bone swords from his arms and charged behind the beast, slashing its tail off. This caused a huge cry of agony to rip from the beast's throat.

"Yes…I am much stronger now!" He yelled and began to use his Karamatsu no Mai when the thing breathed fire at him, allowing him to escape with a slight burn on his left arm. Frowning that the beast was still stronger than he was, he decided to go to level two of the Curse Seal.

Many watched in morbid fascination as Kimimaro's skin darkened to a brownish red and black markings appeared above and below his eyes. A loud thud echoed as a tail sprouted from his back, and crashed onto the floor. Then, three columns made of bone sprouted on each side of his back, creating six in total. He raised his head, exposing red eyes and black sclera, and glared at the creature.

Dumbledore gritted his teeth a little. The dark energy was coming off in much larger waves, repulsing his light magic greatly…someone shouldn't have so much power like that. It was like an Unholy force of nature, unnatural and disgusting in every sense of the word. He watched on as the boy, or 'creature', circled the beast.

"Allow me…to show you…the true strength…of the Shikotsumyaku!" He yelled and placed both of his hands on the floor.

"**Sawarabi no Mai**! (Dance of the Braken)" and with that yell, the field was covered in huge colossal bone spikes, some of which pierced through the dragons wings and preventing it from moving in the tight space. Kimimaro allowed a smirk and held out his left arm. Suddenly, his arm transformed into a bone white drill-like object. He jumped up at a surprisingly high speed towards the imprisoned beast.

"**Tessenka no Mai: Hana**!" He screamed as the bone drill smashed into the chest of the beast, causing it to cry out in pain. Soon, the bone towers collapsed along with the beast that was unconscious due to blood loss. In the clearing, Kimimaro was panting heavily as the Curse Seal returned to normal. It always left the user feeling drained after going into level 2. He suddenly reached his hand to his upper back, and pulled out his spinal cord, causing some of the people in the audience to throw up. He then hurled the whip towards the fallen beast's nest and snatched the golden egg lying within. Having a good hold on the egg, he went back to the champion's room, not wanting to hear Bagman ramble about 'scores' or useless things. Of course, many would wonder why he didn't use the whip in the first place, but he couldn't guarantee that the beast wouldn't destroy it…plus, he had been looking forward to fighting a strong opponent.

"He was a strong piece of trash, I'll give him that…" He said as a small trickle of blood escaped from his mouth. Even if the wand he held on his person was there, it couldn't stop every negativity his disease gave him…

Suddenly, he collapsed against the wall, vaguely hearing Luna scream his name.

He woke up a few hours later, feeling a lot better. He noticed that, to his surprise, Luna had stayed with him, as she was resting her head on his bed. Not wanting to wake her up, he slowly slid out of the bed and got dressed. Looking around the medical wing, he spotted others in the beds.

Cedric must have taken a beating, for he had a tone of bandages over his arms and his left leg. Fleur was resting in the next bed with mild burns, with a small girl resembling her sitting next to her looking on in worry. Viktor Krum looked the best off, as he had only a minor strain on his right leg, causing him to have a crutch to support himself. He nodded at Kimimaro as he hobbled by, receiving another in turn. It would seemed Luna had awakened as she was looking around frantically for him and then, upon spotting him, surprised him by hugging him, hard and was actually sobbing a little…something he had never seen before.

"D-don't ever be so reckless again, you hear me?" Wow, she was really pissed off and actually yelling at him. Kimimaro, due to his not having much knowledge on dealing with hysterical people (or people at all), awkwardly patted her on the back in what he hoped was a somewhat sympathetic or comforting move. The poor girl just continued to cry onto his lavender tunic.

"…Why?" He said in monotone as Luna looked up at him with puffy red eyes in confusion. "…Why do you care about me?" The girl looked affronted.

"W-what are you saying? Why Shouldn't I care about you? You're my friend!" She cried, which caused Kimimaro to go wide-eyed. She had truly considered him as her friend? Had anyone ever called him that before? All he ever had was someone to serve…never forming bonds of friendship. Now though, it seemed as though one had unknowingly formed between him and the blonde haired girl currently sobbing into his chest…he didn't know how to feel about that or what this supposed bond was as she continued to cry.

A few days later…

Kimimaro was now annoyed. Supposedly, there was to be some kind of dance event happening called the Yule Ball. Sighing angrily, he had been told that he would have to find someone to go with him, as it was required as a champion. He contemplated levelling the whole castle with a Sawarabi no Mai and be done with it, but that would just be a waste of chakra for useless trash.

He had actually been taking a longer break from training, much to his chagrin, as this tournament was taking up far too much of his time. Another annoying piece of trash kept on interrupting him when he wanted to do his training so that he could focus on the tournament. He idly recognised the man as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. The crippled man was starting to seriously get on his nerves, but as a shinobi, he never let it show even in the more extreme circumstances. However, there was the moment where Kimimaro lost all sense of self-control.

"Y'know, lad. I heard from the old sorting hat that you used to be someone's servant…" Kimimaro paused to look at the man with a monotonous expression. "He never said the name though…Can't have been a good master if his pet is so rubbish at defending against the dark forces." That comment had cemented it. This man had to die for disrespecting Orochimaru-sama! Even if he no longer served the man, he would not allow someone to make fun of a person he respected so highly! He drew his bone whip from his back, to the surprise of the cripple.

"You filthy trash…I will not allow you to make a mockery of Orochimaru-sama! Even if I no longer serve him, I refuse to tolerate such blatant disrespect!" He yelled and wrapped the bone whip around the man's real leg and pulled, dragging him to Kimimaro and causing him to lose his wand in shock.

"Die." With that word, he drew a bone sword and plunged it into the man's chest, eliciting a cry of agony. Then much to Kimimaro's surprise, the man's face had melted, in similarity to Orochimaru's face stealing technique, and a much younger man was now glaring at him.

"B-bastard! L-Lord Voldemort will kill you for this! I-I'll have you-" He was cut off as Kimimaro lodged a Tenshi Sendan into his skull, killing him brutally. Turning away, he moved at a slow pace back to the common room, where hopefully he wouldn't be disturbed by the trash who had been sending him funny looks because he was in the tournament. He had a lot to think about…such as who this Lord Voldemort is…he decided to ask Luna.

"Oh? Voldemort?" She said, causing gasps amongst the crowds, much to Kimimaro's annoyance. He had to threaten some kid in green rimmed robes to spill the secrets or face death because everyone he asked just shivered in fear. Like a true snake, he gave the information to preserve himself…the trash, tarnishing a great animal like a snake. Anyway, he turned back to Luna to hear her explanation.

"Apparently, he is supposed to be a Dark Wizard that used to attend here years ago…although he disappeared somewhere along the line a few years ago…no one knows what happened although there are theories that Harry Potter, the Boy-who-lived, was the one to bring his downfall." Here, Kimimaro paused. That old trash had called him that name when they first met…Oh well; he didn't truly care as it had little to do with him anyway. After thanking Luna, she again surprised him with a small hug, which he still didn't know how to feel about.

As he left the common room, he was contemplating about what the next portion of the tournament was going to be when he unknowingly collided with someone…that red haired manner-less trash he saw on his first day. He was apparently with his friends trying to bother some little blonde girl that resembled the female Tri-Wizard champion, Fleur Delacour if he remembered correctly. So she was the girl sitting by her bedside. Turning his attention back to the red haired boy, he found him glaring with barely suppressed rage.

"Watch where you're going!" He yelled at Kimimaro, who looked blankly back at him, causing the boy to lose some of his bravado.

"Hmph…I don't have the time to deal with insignificant pieces of trash like you…leave my sight immediately, vermin." This naturally didn't get the most positive reaction, for the boy gaped a little then charged at him in anger.

Sighing in agitation, Kimimaro easily side-stepped the boys pathetic fighting skills. He was like a brawler with his fists going in all directions. His friends seemed to be cheering him on in trying to land a hit. Kimimaro, now getting bored, grabbed the boy's incoming hand and squeezed it. Hard.

A loud crunch was heard as the boy screamed and dropped on the ground, clutching his injured hand. His friends looked flabbergasted and moved to help their friend, who was crying in pain, to the hospital wing. Kimimaro watched this with his unnerving impassive gaze.

"Trash…" He said in disdain before they ran around the corner. Why was this castle filled with such weak trash? The only one he hoped to get a good battle with was Krum, as he looked built for combat and might have been able to keep up with him…

He was broken out of his musings when he felt a small hand tug on his sleeve. Looking down he saw the red face of the girl he saved, looking around sheepishly. Yes, she was quite the opposite of the proud champion of Beauxbatons.

"T-Thank you for saving me…" She whispered before running off, leaving Kimimaro staring in confusion. Shaking his head, he continued down the hallway and into the school library.

He had been meaning to do this earlier but due to people paying attention to him in one way or the other, he never got this chance. After sitting in the library with Luna one day during his break from training, he questioned her on the locked room at the back of the library that was marked as sectioned off. This room was said to contain a fountain of forbidden knowledge and techniques according to Luna and that piqued his interest. This sounded a lot similar to the paranoia that his former master once exhibited; shoving all of that knowledge in a private area that only those of a high official rank could enter, such as himself.

As he stealthily moved through the darker hallways of the Restricted Section, he picked up a few books and minor accessories that seemed interesting to him. After happy with his haul, he was about to leave when he spotted a rather mangy looking cat staring at him with its beady eyes. Narrowing his eyes, he threw a Tenshi Sendan at the mongrel and watched in amusement as it roared angrily and ran off in fright. Soon, he exited the dark halls of the forbidden library.

After returning to the common room, he sat down on the floor in a cross-legged position, looking over his stolen property. Most were just history books on Dark Wizards so he moved those out of the way in one section. The next was the more interesting and it had baffled him as to why it was kept in a dirty library. The book was about something called a barrier that separated the two worlds…wait. Didn't that old man say something about a barrier when they kidnapped him? He continued to read into the night…

Kimimaro woke up from his futon in a good mood for once since he came here to the school. Realising it was the weekend, he decided to try one of the skill scrolls of another element to boost his arsenal of Jutsu. Looking over them, he was a little off balance in what to decide. He came to the conclusion that seeing as he was aligned with water, fire wouldn't be the best to learn. So that left Lightening, Earth, and Wind. Earth was out as his bloodline sometimes made use of the soil, like Sawarabi no Mai, so it was unneeded. Wind wouldn't work out so well as he was a close combat fighter and a majority of wind techniques he had in the scroll were mid-to-long range, with the exception of the Kaze no Yaiba (Blade of Wind, which he would remind himself to learn at a later date as it was quite deadly). So it was to be the lightning element then for the speed it provided…

After doing some light training he decided to finally get started on the lightning technique, **Raiton: Gian** (Lightning Release: False Darkness). According to Orochimaru's attached notes, he stole and copied the technique from a member of his former organisation, Akatsuki, though never mentioned the man's name. Kimimaro suspected it was because Orochimaru wanted to forget everything about his time with the group.

It took a few days to truly master the technique as one had to create spears made out of literal lightning. This required a large amount of his chakra that could have better use for his Shikotsumyaku, but he supposed that having a backup was ideal, even if he didn't like it. So engrossed was he in his training that he didn't see the pale blue eyes staring wide-eyed at his display.

The next day, Kimimaro had finally had it up to hell. Many women were trying to seduce him in getting him to accompanying them to the dance. Hell, he had to hide from some of the more frisky members of the crowd in his common room where a lot of the other students didn't bother him. As he looked around, seemingly thinking of something, he walked up to Luna, who looked at him curiously while she was reading a newspaper.

"Luna-san, would you please accompany me to the dance." He said in Japanese, not wanting any unwanted eavesdroppers. The girl had turned red a little at his bluntness.

"A-are the Nargles affecting you, or did you actually ask me to go with you to the dance?" She questioned, and was rather shocked when Kimimaro nodded. "W-well, I'll have to mail father for one of mothers dresses but yes, I'll go with you." She seemed a little happier for some reason unknown to Kimimaro. Inwardly sighing in relief, though no expression played out on his face, he nodded with a small barely noticeable smile. Well, at least those troublesome women would stop asking him to go to the dance…

**END OF CHAPTER 3**

**Sorry if it feels that I rushed the relationship a little, but I had to get it moving SOMEWHERE. Don't worry, they most likely won't get into a serious relationship until later. Right now, Luna is now just noticing him as more than a friend and Kimimaro is just confused at her behaviour as he never had anyone truly like him in that way. I just wanted to establish that so the pairing would progress. Thanks for reading.**

**Endogetsu**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the reviews everybody! Now here I will answer some of my favourite reviews.**

**Little Kunai: **Yeah, it was gross, huh? Your reaction was exactly as I thought most people would react! I decided to do something different than the overused 'blood adoption' crap where they suddenly gain the power through drops of blood (I actually liked the idea of him getting it this way as it makes it seem like the bloodline is similar to something from the undead and eating the remains solidifies it). The worse part was that Kimi was unaware of what transpired and thought it was because of his induction into the clan. About the authority thing, there will be some conflict with Dumbledore in this chapter after the Second challenge, so don't worry.

**To those inquiring about the cup portkey, there is a plan for that which will be explained in the next chapter. Also, my apologies for the lack of action in the second trial but I cannot see that much happening in terms of fighting for that trial. **

**Well, on with Chapter 4.**

Chapter 4

The days to the Yule Ball were drawing close and many students were still trying to find dates to go with. Kimimaro was content that the women had stopped asking him to go and started bothering the other champions…why were the females here so troublesome? Switching between one boy and another…then again, many rookie kunoichi were the same.

Sighing, he realised that he only had 5 days until the ball started. He hadn't seen much of his partner Luna much as it seemed she wanted to keep her outfit a surprise from him…Heh, even with how she usually acts, she could be surprisingly different when it came to clothing.

Snapping out of his revere, he watched as millions of owls swooped into the hall. Despite his overall lack of care for any of the trash here, he envied that they had those companions of theirs…perhaps he should go to the alley sometime and look around…

He then watched as many more students came into the great hall, with a majority sending glares at him, particularly the Hufflepuff group he noticed. He wondered why the fools were glaring at him until he realised…they must hold resentment because he was in the tournament and outshining their champion. Shrugging in an uncaring manner, causing the glares to increase, he returned to his breakfast meal. He idly noted that Luna had slid in to sit next to him with a happy smile. Kimimaro raised an eyebrow at her odd behaviour.

"Good morning, Luna-san." He greeted. "How are your preparations for this upcoming event?" He questioned and the girl smiled at him.

"Oh, don't worry, everything is good. I managed to borrow one of mothers dresses…" She trailed off and Kimimaro slightly winced at reminding her of her mother. She then appeared to change her demeanour into happy mode once more.

"So, what about you? Have you bought a suit yet?" Kimimaro absently nodded. Yes, he had managed to secure a purchase of a suitable suit from a local upper class neighbourhood. As he let his eyes wonder, he noticed that the old man, Dumbledore, was looking at him with a frown and slight anger. Raising his eyebrow once more, he turned away and focused more on his conversation with Luna.

Albus was getting irritated. The boy he believed to be Harry was causing him problems, most of which were brought up by the students. At the time, he just dismissed them as mere child rough housing but seeing young Mr. Weasley's arm in such a damaged condition had now forced his hand. He would be addressing the issues with the boy after the second trial of the tournament…but for now, he would have to focus his attention on the suspicious murder of Barty Crouch Jr, who had been masquerading as his dear friend Alastor Moody…and find out where the real Moody was.

Night of the Yule Ball…

Kimimaro sighed as he pulled at his collar. He didn't have any particular fondness for these kinds of outfits but it wouldn't be proper for him or his 'date' if he arrived in his regular attire. He was clad in an all-white suit, even his shoes were white, and with the only difference being the black collared shirt underneath. To complete the look, he had insisted on putting on white gloves to adorn his hands. Finally, he had let his hair flow freely, without the red ornaments, leaving his white hair brushing just past his shoulders. Aside from his favourite lavender tunics, the colour white was amongst his favourites…

After waiting for a while, he heard soft footsteps echo down the common room stairs, gaining his attention. As the figure stepped in the light, Kimimaro's eyes widened.

Luna was standing there dressed in a flowing frilly light blue dress and long white gloves. She had made quite a bit of effort for this, as she had given her hair a slight curl, making some strands stand out. Finally, adorning her head was a headband with a white flower ornament attached on the left side. She squirmed a little under his stare.

"W-well, what do you think?" She questioned as Kimimaro snapped out his daze. He then, very faintly, smiled.

"You look…quite wonderful, Luna-san…" The girl then smiled radiantly at him and proceeded to drag him by the arm, making note of the actual smile appearing on the face of her date.

They really went to great lengths for such a short event. Large circular tables filled to the brim with food and some alcoholic beverages. Hell, there were even ice sculptures of all things…

He felt Luna tugging on him to pay attention to the meaningless speech that the old man was giving. He sighed in agitation, wishing that they could just hurry up and get on with it…

Soon, the ball began, with the four champions and their partners leading the dancing, much to Kimimaro's silent annoyance. He hated being the centre of attention as his line of work required him to be anything but. He also noted that Luna was getting a little tired so, feeling slightly exhausted himself, he guided her over to one of the circular tables.

Kimimaro idly noted the strangely named alcoholic beverages that darted all of the tables. He idly remembered that many shinobi had vices such as this, but not him. His loyalty forbade any form of alcohol consumption…well, except the occasional cup of sake, which he had once a year. That was his one exception. He sighed as he noted that these strangely named beverages had no appeal to him and he idly watched that red haired fool from earlier embarrassing himself by gulping down large amounts of beer and grabbing at the food while his date looked on in disgust. He smirked a little that someone as ill mannered as that pig could ever get a date…and with that ridiculous outfit to boot...the girl must have awful taste in men. Sighing, he pulled out his secret stash of sake that he had prepared just in case and pulled out a small saucer. As he poured the beverage and was about to drink, he saw Luna gazing curiously at the bottle. Shrugging, he decided to offer her some, which got a smile.

"Oh good! I've always wanted to try this but father keeps telling me to wait till I'm older!" She said and accepted the offered cup. Kimimaro smirked in amusement as the girls eyes went wider than usual as the suspected throat burning first shot took place.

"W-well, that was…that was certainly something different…" She admitted. Kimimaro looked at her.

"The first shot is always the strongest, try it once more." She complied a little shakily and was quite stunned that it tasted completely different, and proceeded to drink more. Soon, she began to fidget and murmur in her seat.

Kimimaro watched in concealed amazement as Luna continued to drink the beverage with fervour. God, he hoped she wasn't like Tayuya when she was drunk. Not only was she even more temperamental, she had even socked him with a few black eyes on certain nights. One time he got so irritated by her drunken brawling that he just dropped her down the stairs.

Later that evening…

Kimimaro sighed. He should never have given Luna that drink. He should have seen it sooner. Currently, the girl in question had her arm looped around Kimimaro's neck and was singing to herself while stumbling slightly. After a few moments walking, she leaned into him, surprising him slightly.

"Y-you know (hic) I think that…You." She then prodded Kimimaro's chest a few times. "You…are a very (hic)…attractive man." She said and then laughed merrily, which Kimimaro smiled at slightly. She had a nice laugh…

Wait. Where did that come from? This wasn't like him! Why did he think her laugh was nice? Why did this girl find him attractive? This was confusing…this world was changing him in ways he never would have imagined…He would have to ponder this after.

Soon, Luna had to be carried by Kimimaro bridal style as her stumbling became more frequent. He noted that occasionally she would let out a small giggle in her drunken slumber, which caused a rare laugh to escape his lips. He looked outside a nearby window, seeing a full moon, then looked down at the sleeping Luna and smiled slightly.

"Luna…child of the full moon…how fitting." He remarked as the moon rays shone on the sleeping girl as she snuggled closer.

Kimimaro had entered the common room and carefully walked upstairs to the girl's dorms with Luna in his arms. Upon entering, he located what he presumed was her bed and tried to place her gently on the mattress.

Tried being the keyword as the blonde girl had started to moan a little and cling to his neck. He sighed a little as he was failing to get the girl to let go. Suddenly, to his immense surprise, Luna had sprung up…and kissed him. Fully. With her tongue and everything!

He was too shocked to move as the girl had let go and gave in to slumber. He stood there with wide eyes and a shocked expression, before carefully placing his jacket over her slumbering form. He then proceeded to head to the boy's dorm and lay on his futon, wondering what to do about this damn conundrum…

The next day…

Luna woke up with a killer headache, wondering just what she did last night at the ball. She sat up slowly, noticing she was still in her dress, and prepared to change out of it slowly and get into some regular clothes as it was the weekend.

After taking some painkillers, she headed down into the common room and sat on one of the huge sofa's, while reading a copy of the Quibbler as she went over last nights events in her head.

She got drunk, that was the most memorable thing. Damn sake, it was so good that she kept swigging it. After that it became slightly fuzzy as she remembered being helped back into the common room. Then, the most embarrassing moment was when…

"I…kissed him?" She turned pure scarlet at this as she remembered the rather vivid picture of her attacking Kimimaro with her mouth.

With Kimimaro…

Kimimaro walked down the corridor to reach the library. He had been putting off this study as his preparations for the ball and the first task. He had to research into this 'barrier' that had connected these two different worlds, and hopefully find a way back.

While he honestly didn't mind this world, it offered little for his chosen profession and he didn't belong here. Thus, he would have to go back eventually…

Also, he had almost forgotten but he had to research that blasted screaming egg that some moron had attempted to steal and backfired when it opened up and deafened him. That was quite amusing…maybe he'd take the egg back to the Elemental Nations with him when he decided to return. Looking at the golden egg, he was quite confused as to what he was supposed to do with it. Was he supposed to sneak into the other champion's rooms and deafen them with its foul scream? Or bludgeon them to death with it? This was just a large annoying puzzle…

"Ah…so that is what I must do…" After being confronted by some strange creature with large ears claiming to hold the answer to his problem, he was rather sceptical at best. After heeding the thing's advice, he took a bath and listened to the thing underwater.

Apparently, the task was that something important would be taken from him and he would have to fight hordes of creatures to get it back. The question was…what was important to him in this world? Did he have anything like that?

Shaking his head, he returned to his more important matter…what to do about this 'barrier'. According to the book he stole from the restricted section, this barrier was created by these wizards to seal away the Elemental Nations. Looking at the nations overall, he couldn't help but reluctantly agree with the wizards. Hell, trained soldiers that could wipe you out in the blink of an eye is not something you'd want out in the open. It was much easier to erase it from existence than have them nearby…

He was getting annoyed now. This book wasn't very good in depth about trying to bypass the barrier. He may, just may, have to ask for help from that old trash that abducted him…

Day of the Second trial…

It was quite cold out in the middle of the lake. Many onlookers were openly shivering and even three of the champions were expressing their distaste of this weather, but not Kimimaro.

Shinobi often had to travel lightly to the snow barren reaches of areas like the Land of Snow so many of them had built up a reasonable cold resistance, but this was quite ridiculous in his opinion.

Why did they have to wear swimsuits of all things in weather like this? Sighing, he looked at his own black swim shorts. At least he didn't go with Luna's suggestion at buying a speedo…God, that would have been way too much skin exposure.

As he looked down at the water, he cursed these wizards. Why did these tasks hinder his use of the Shikotsumyaku in different ways. First, he couldn't pierce the dragons hide without using his curse seal, now if he used it here he would most likely sink due to the heaviness the bones gave him. He watched in morbid fascination as Krum transfigured his upper body into that of a shark. Such a thing reminded him idly of Orochimaru's true form…

The girl champion seemed quite annoyed with the lecherous looks she was getting. Well, if you wore such a skimpy swimsuit what did you expect, woman? Sighing at the insanity of women, he looked at his fellow Hogwarts champion who was warming up. Wow…someone was actually going to try this normally.

Looking into the murky depths, he pondered a few solutions to win. The first was to use water walking but seeing as these people wanted a show that was out. Next was swimming normally, which was also out as someone was already going to try it. Hm...

Well, the whistle blew, so with that they were off, with Krum speeding into the lead followed by Kimimaro, then tying for the last place was Cedric and Fleur.

That shark-man trash was definitely fast, there was no doubting that. He couldn't exactly fire off a Tenshi Sendan at him, as the water would slow it down. All he had now was his taijutsu. Don't get him wrong, taijutsu was his forte, but he had come to constantly use his bloodline in everything, as he wanted to make sure it was the strongest. Sighing in agitation, he then spotted what appeared to be a humanoid fish creature with a spear. Again he cursed, he would have likely been able to get a good fight in but because of this water and the surrounding viewers, he couldn't use his more dangerous jutsu in case the onlookers got themselves hurt. He would have to wing this one.

As he gracefully dodged the first spear, the second fish man struck his side, causing a gash to appear. Gritting his teeth, he punched the attacker in the face, sending him reeling into the surrounding coral reefs.

He could see them now…four people were strapped to a rock in the middle. The first was a girl with black hair and a dominant Asian look. The next was a girl with brown hair. Next was that little girl that he had apparently saved from the red head and his stooges. But the final one…

"Luna?" Yes, she was also there in an unconscious state. He had to hurry or she would drown…What kind of sick game was this? Playing with peoples lives? He would be having words and hopefully bone-powered strikes with the trash that dared place one of his friends in danger…

Reaching the rock, he noticed that Krum was trying and failing to gnaw through the rope of the brown haired girl. Sighing, Kimimaro just cut them off with a bone spike, receiving a grateful nod in return from the shark beast, which took the girl with him.

As he waited, it seemed as though the others weren't coming…dammit. More weight to carry for him. Idly summoning a Mizu bunshin, he ordered it to carry the other two girls up to the surface while he took Luna.

It was freezing. He cursed coming out of the water so quickly as he and his clone emerged. The clone had dispelled itself after safely placing the two unconscious girls on the grass. He noticed that Luna started to awaken and she coughed a little as some of the water had gone down her throat. After gaining a quick hold of herself, she looked at him and gasped before shakily pointing at his hip. Looking at where she pointed, he cursed. It seemed that the attack from the fish man was more damaging than he thought. As he sat there in silence, he noted that the other champions had resurfaced and had rushed to their hostages. The female champion, Fleur, seemed quite relieved and was openly crying that her sister had to go through such an ordeal. Narrowing his eyes, Kimimaro turned in anger at the smiling faces of the judges.

"You filthy gutter trash!" He snarled, making everyone look at him in shock. "This was all a game to you? These innocent people could have died and for what? Your entertainment?" He then lowered his head. "To have such a young child suffer through that…" He gestured to Fleur's unconscious sister.

"Disgusting vermin…" He then walked off, with Luna trailing behind him, helping steady him as he stumbled a little. He idly heard the other champions voice their anger as well at the situation. He saw the parents of Fleur yelling quite vocally at the school headmasters for the girl was in a state of shock at the danger that her sister could have perished.

He cursed now. The injury would get infected if he didn't do something. Thinking quickly, he came to a simple realisation and smacked his face. Foolish! How could he forget? He would have to use that technique that Orochimaru taught him…regardless of how disgusting it was.

"Oral Rebirth Technique!" With that, his mouth opened obscenely wide, and from within the mouth, a drool covered hand shot out, followed by Kimimaro's entire body. As he exited his 'skin' he idly noted with amusement that Luna was curiously poking the dead skin with her wand and taking notes on a clipboard. She then told him to take a shower, as the smell was unbearable and his drool was everywhere. Yes, he never liked that technique too much but it got rid of his sustained injury quite well…

Now, he was getting serious, these vermin had endangered someone dear to him. They wouldn't be getting off lightly with this, not a chance…

With Dumbledore…

"What is the matter with you? You knew all too well that the Veela and Mermen have had a rocky history yet you still allowed this?" Fleur's parents yelled at Albus. "You should be thankful that she is unharmed, or we would have pressed charges! Come Fleur, let us go and see Gabrielle." With that, the family had left the office, while Albus slumped in his chair.

He didn't think it would be that violent of a situation. He never thought that the mermen could be quite brutal judging by the large gash that young Kimimaro had suffered. His eyes narrowed at that thought. The boy was strong, no doubt about that, but he was a loose cannon. His seemingly comfortable attitude when it came to harming someone bothered him greatly. When he found Harry Potter, he was expecting a clone of either James or Lily, brave and courageous or smart and kind…but this was never what he expected. He wanted a hero who was compassionate and kind to the people, willing to give a helping hand while still willing to fight for the Light. He sighed, no doubt the boy would be coming up here soon to complain.

As soon as he thought that, his stone gargoyle had smashed through his door and an irritated looking Kimimaro had entered the wreckage. Dumbledore frowned.

"Now, was there a reason for that?" This just made Kimimaro angrier as he stalked up to the desk.

"What kind of sick and twisted trash are you to allow innocent people to be faced with death?" Here Dumbledore sighed. The boy's constant insult of trash was starting to get to him.

"That is Professor Dumbledore to you, and I have actually been meaning to converse with you about your actions during your stay here." Kimimaro still looked angry but calmed himself and leaned against the wall, refusing the offered seat.

"Prior to this event, you have engaged in conflict with Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley, with you attacking them-" He was cut off when Kimimaro cut in.

"I do not know what those vermin have told you but is it wrong for me to act in defence of innocent people and children being bullied?" He queried, then sneered. "But then again, I suppose you would encourage this 'in the name of the Greater Good' correct?" Sadly for Albus, the Delacour family had come back to yell some more and overheard the last snippet.

"What does he mean bullied children? Did someone try to harm little Gabby?" The patriarch snarled angrily at the aging headmaster. Kimimaro looked at him.

"This vermin has allowed his students to harass who I presume is your daughter. Had I not intervened, I dread what those trash would have done to her." The mother glared at Dumbledore, who wilted even further in his seat.

"When this sham of a tournament is over, expect our lawyers to be calling you. Good day." With that, the family left, with Kimimaro following. Before he left, he pulled out a bone sword and turned to Albus.

"Try another stunt like that again…and you'll end up like the last fool who tried to anger me." With that he turned to leave but the door had repaired itself and closed. Sighing tiredly, he turned to the old man, who was frowning at him.

"There is one more matter I feel we should discuss. What is that tattoo on your chest that reeks of dark magic?" He said with trepidation and Kimimaro looked solemnly at the tattoo and fingered over it lovingly as if remembering something long forgotten.

"This…was a gift from my former master." That threw Albus for a loop. The boy considered that dark anchor of the foulest magic a _gift_? And what was this about a former master? He did not like this. Not one bit.

"…And who might this master of yours be, Harry?" Kimimaro twitched at the annoying use of that name that this man sometimes called him to annoy and anger him. "I must insist that we remove that mark, before it can corrupt you fur-" His sentence was cut off when a Tenshi Sendan was buried next to his head, startling the sleeping Fawkes to wake up. Kimimaro looked at him emotionlessly.

"…This is all I have left of him, I will not allow trash like you to remove this beloved seal despite the risks it poses to my well being." Kimimaro said and then walked out the door, leaving an annoyed Dumbledore behind.

The nerve of that trash! How dare he try to suggest that he should remove the seal! Sure, it was a risk using the seal but it was his last reminder of his former master and nobody would take that away from him. It was his sign of loyalty that earned the mark in the first place so what right did this no name trash have to take that away? Nothing! He stopped his rant.

He was letting his anger control him lately. He could have just given his previous victims a verbal beat down but he drew a line when it came to ridiculing others. It was pointless and a huge waste of time and Kimimaro would only end up kicking their asses that badly that many of his victims would have given up the act rather quickly…He needed to control his emotions more.

Calming down, he proceeded to head to the forbidden forest to blow off unnecessary steam. Yes, the poor inhabitants of the dense dark forest had chills running down their spines…

The next day…

Kimimaro was in a rare good mood. He had a lot of fun hunting those gigantic bugs that reminded him of Kidomaru's spider summons. Now, he was calmly walking down the 5th floor corridor with his textbooks and some other equipment under his arm. One specific book would allow him to find clues as to how one can pass through the seemingly impenetrable barrier.

Of course, if he weren't on awful terms with him, he would have interrogated his kidnappers but that would just place suspicion on him knowing of the barrier in the first place and remove any hope he had of leaving.

Brushing past the greasy potion professor who scowled at him, he reached the huge winding staircase that constantly annoyed him with its twirling and spinning ways…

"Hey! Kimimaro!" he heard a familiar whiny voice. Oh Kami-sama no! Not him! Anyone but him!

Turning around gingerly, he was confronted by a flash of light and, as the light dimmed, he looked down and saw a small mousy looking boy with a camera in his hand looking at him in admiration. Kimimaro's eyebrow twitched violently. This menace had constantly managed to find him one way or the other and he had a sneaking suspicion that the boy, Colin, was a hunter-nin as his tracking abilities were simply insane. Ignoring the midget cameraman, he proceeded down the hall and out into the courtyard, with the boy seemingly blabbing on an on…Thank god he had patience, otherwise this fool would be splattered on the wall courtesy of a bone spike and maybe a few bullets to render his legs useless…damn he was getting sadistic.

As he sat under a tree, and thankfully camera boy went to bother someone else, he took out a canvas and painting materials and began to work. He had been letting his anger control him too much as of late so Luna had suggested that he should find some sort of side activity to calm his mind. Painting allowed him to express himself a lot easier and it had drastically lowered his volatile temper a good deal. He sighed in content, wondering why he never did these things in Otogakure, as this was quite enjoyable. Perhaps this was how many shinobi had stayed sane all the years, such as Tayuya with her music or Kidomaru with his video games…he supposed this was his form of escapism.

"Hello Kimimaro! It's a lovely day isn't it?" Luna had sat next to him as he nodded absently, still focused on painting. Luna had hummed in thought as she continued to watch him paint. He had actually just started to randomly sling the brush wildly to let himself loose and gain a calm mind but he was surprised and shocked by the result of his work.

He had surprisingly painted an image of Luna, sitting under a tree while reading a copy of the Quibbler. Her only difference was a flowing white dress instead of her uniform. He would have thought that his image would have been of Orochimaru…He looked at the girl in question sitting next to him. She seemed pleasantly surprised by his image, judging by the slightly growing redness on her face. She then smiled at him and, for some reason, he couldn't help the small barely noticeable smile crawl on his face.

"You are very good at this…" She commented in her dreamy voice. She then handed him another canvas and asked if he could do another, which he nodded in surprise. He didn't think that she would like it that much that she would want him to continue…

Splashing a visage of colours on the fresh canvas, he began to work, idly noting that Luna had placed her hand over his free one and slightly squeezed. Unknown to him, she smiled happily with bright red cheeks as she looked at the previous artwork.

A week later…

He sat in the library, thinking over what he had just overheard from one of the other headmasters from the other schools. Apparently, the last course of the tournament was to be a search for the cup itself. He cursed them, as they didn't give out any solid information that he could use as his advantage. He wandered around for a while, skipping the pointless History of Magic class.

Oh where could he start with that god-awful excuse for a subject. He had been looking forward to this at first as he thought he would be able to gleam some kind of hints on the world separating barrier and how it operated, but apparently the teacher was quite incompetent. Well, maybe not incompetent in such a word. The ghost teacher had some good insight of the previous wars between Wizards and beasts that had occurred ages ago. That was about the only useful thing he could garner from such a boring class that he just stopped going after a while...

And Divination! Oh don't get him started with that disaster. The senile old bat with huge eyes kept predicting his death in strange and somewhat amusing comical ways (to him anyway). This was a pathetic class and he had no need of such a useless 'Inner eye' and thus left after a few lessons. The future is what you want it to be, not predetermined by fate…

As he walked down the hallway on the 2nd floor, he felt a small hand loop with his. He didn't need to know who it was for she had taken to holding his hand instead of childishly tugging on his sleeve. It was a bold move, he theorised, as many couples he had seen just hugged slightly. He paused there.

Couple? Him and Luna? Yes, they had a rather brilliant relationship with each other compared to the trash that Kimimaro constantly met here but to think of her in that way...was something he had never felt for anyone before. Why was this happening? This was all so confusing…

Luna had noticed his pause and looked up at him in concern. He just waved it off as something else. He had been showing more emotion around her, aside from the anger reserved for trash, than anyone he had ever known in his life. This world was changing him and he had no idea how to feel about it…it was as if something was pricking at his cold dead heart, trying to bring it back to life somehow through means no one had ever tried before. He shook his head, there would be time for this later, and he had to focus on what the third and final trial would be. He then walked down the corridor, with Luna chatting animatedly about strangely named creatures and other bizarre concepts…

Day of the third trial…

Kimimaro was impressed. For the first time, the trash here had finally given him a decent challenge that wouldn't hinder his bloodline limit. As the judges droned on and on, he took note of the course.

A huge garden-like maze darted the huge stadium covered by an ominous mist, obscuring the deepest pits of the dark pathways. This was exciting to him. Finally a decent challenge!

He apparently was to go second, as Krum was currently leading followed by him, Fleur, and finally Cedric who seemed to be having bad luck in this tournament. Looking in concealed excitement, he noted that some movement was prominent in the maze, indicating some hopefully strong opponents like that winged beast he faced in the first trial. Yes, this would be good…

He then heard the sound of a horn being blown and watched as Krum entered the maze at a jogging pace. So that was the starting signal…

About ten minutes later, he heard the horn again and he sprung into the dark hallways of the maze with great anticipation of what he hoped was a good challenge for his Shikotsumyaku…

END OF CHAPTER

**Okay, that's it for this chapter! Sorry if it is slightly shorter than the past chapters but I didn't want to jump straight into the third trial.**

**About the painting scene, I just couldn't resist putting a small fluff in there and I wanted the relationship to progress. You may notice now that Kimimaro is starting to look at Luna a little differently but this will only progress after he can gain a better understanding of what he currently feels about her. Remember that he had a crappy upbringing with a lack of friendly or romantic contact so he only knows of the basics of love and things related because he was taught it briefly when training with Orochimaru.**

**The next chapter will cover the third trial, the return of Voldemort and other stuff.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter and will continue to read the story! **

**Endogetsu.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, I would like to thank all those who are currently enjoying the story and I would like to address some things with a reviewer who has pointed out some good facts that I will answer to.**

**1) Kimimaro's reason for not learning long range skills is precisely due to the fact that he is an up close kind of fighter, so it would be understandable if he is uncomfortable about changing his close range fist fighting to long range techniques if he's been fighting in close range for so long. He shows wariness that it would ruin his bloodline, which is his main focus in improving himself as it is what once made him useful to Orochimaru. Also, he is rather confident that his bloodline wouldn't fail him (well, from what I could see in the anime anyway). He took the scrolls because he didn't think that he was in a rush to learn them and he thought that his opponents would be weak so he didn't see the point in wasting the time when he could use his bones to crush them.**

**2) Yes, I haven't been too subtle with him have I? Because of the abrupt kidnapping, he would generally want to vent his rage upon any unfortunate fool that dared cross his path wouldn't he? Also, we don't really find out that much of Kimimaro's character in the series only that he was raised to fight from childhood, so wouldn't his trained instinct to fight force him to tackle his problems with pure brute force despite his usual uncaring attitude? He did get quite brutal after Gaara insulted his faith in Orochimaru...**

**3) The Kaguya clan kept him locked up in a cell for a majority of his time there with little human contact, unable to move or leave the cell unless it was for training. With Orochimaru, not only was he allowed his freedom, he also saw the man as a father figure as he was the first person to ever (in a warped way) care for him somewhat and thus he became obsessed with him in zealot-like manner, practically worshipping the man. The reason he kept the Kaguya name was because they gave him his bloodline so that was the one thing he was grateful to them for, regardless of his dislike of the clan.**

**4) Finally, his constant lapse from Orochimaru-sama to Orochimaru is due to his reluctance to completely cut off his ties with the one person he could honestly have wanted to call his father. Sure, he did some pretty sick shit with those experiments but he still saved Kimimaro from his hell and he will always be his saviour in some way, regardless of what horrible things the man had done.**

**I hope these answers help and I want to thank you for the criticism. With it, I hope to make the story a lot better in future chapters. Also, my apologies in not being clear enough.**

**Chapter 5**

This endless maze was getting quite tiresome despite it being a paradise for a stealthy killer. How long had he been travelling in these dark hallways of hedges? He didn't know. He was about to just turn around and give up when some movement caught his attention. Thinking, he slipped into the shadows of a nearby hedge and observed the coming disturbance.

A strange looking creature had lumbered near him, trying to sniff something out. Kimimaro was grateful that he had masked his scent earlier with one of the charms he learnt from that small teacher, one of the more useful spells he thought. The creature was quite large, resembling a strange hybrid of a manticore and a fire crab (he re-read the magical creatures guide for reasons such as this). Kimimaro idly noted the small sparks of flame out was shooting out of what he presumed was its tail. Thinking to himself, he then slowly pulled out a kunai and crept up behind his unsuspecting foe.

The Blast-Ended Skrewt was confused. It was sure it had located a human in its path and had prepared to assault the interloper but when it arrived, there was nobody there. It had even sniffed around a little but found absolutely nothing. Maybe, like his fellow Skrewts said, he was getting paranoid…

URK!

The squelch echoed slightly as the creature collapsed in a small pile. Kimimaro idly wiped the blood from his kunai and proceeded to move silently but swiftly through the huge maze that somewhat reminded him of the second exam of Konoha when he had to kill three participants so Orochimaru could take their places. This place gave off that forbidden feeling that would attract a multitude of strange people or creatures. Speaking of creatures…

Kimimaro halted to a stop in front of one of the strangest creatures he had ever seen. It resembled a large lion with a woman's head…what an unusual sight. The Woman-lion thing looked at him in amusement before, surprisingly to Kimimaro, spoke in Japanese.

"First think of the person who lives in disguise,

Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.

Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,

The middle of middle and end of end?

And finally give me the sound often heard,

During the search for a hard-to-find word.

Now string them together and answer me this,

What creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"

This was…a riddle? What was the point of this? Was this thing playing around? No, it wasn't, as it seemed to be patiently awaiting his answer. He sat down in a cross-legged position to think about it for a minute. It took him a while to realise it but when he did, his eyes widened.

"The answer is…a Spider." Yes, Kidomaru often played tricks with riddles when he wasn't gaming and it gave him something to do when he wasn't training and thus helped increase his knowledge of how to communicate with others in different ways. The Woman-lion smiled at him.

"…Correct!" With that, she moved past him with a feral grin, into the darkness of where he once was. Shaking his head to rid himself of the odd encounter, he continued on in the direction he hoped was the correct one…

Viktor Krum was getting angry. These creatures were annoying him by constantly opposing him in his path to the cup. After absently throwing a cutting curse at a nearby Skrewt, he ran up ahead…and collided into something. Before he could look up, he heard a word being muttered before something hit him as his world faded.

Cedric was really reconsidering his wanting to be in this competition. His seemingly appalling luck had landed him in a huge pitfall courtesy of the laughing little bastards above him, which reminded him of some kind demented house elves on crack. Shaking his head after the fifth attempt of climbing up, he decided to call it quits…he was exhausted anyway. Sending up a red flare, he sat in the hole and waited for someone to come and collect him.

Fleur Delacour was having a surprisingly easy time of this trial. The only creatures she had to face were a small acromantula and one of those exploding lobsters, nothing too serious. Twirling her wand and whistling she continued at a leisure pace through the dark hedges. As she turned around the corner, the last thing she heard before she screamed in pain was a curse smashing into her side.

Kimimaro looked up abruptly. What was that scream? It came from just ahead. He sped up his pace, breezing past a majority of strange and questionable creatures that attempted to block his way until he found the obstruction.

Standing over the unconscious body of the female champion, Fleur Delacour, was a dazed looking Viktor Krum who was staring into space. Narrowing his eyes, Kimimaro capitalised on the older boy's daze as he snuck up behind him and chopped the back of his neck to render him unconscious. Carefully lowering him next to the girl, he thought for a moment before sending up a flare with Krum's wand. He wouldn't be able to do anything more than race to obtain the cup.

As he ran through a series of hedges and swore that he was lost, his eyes widened and he smacked his face. Of course! Why didn't he think of that sooner! Taking out a bone sword he hacked at one of the hedges…and watched as it seemingly revived itself replacing the damage. He frowned; this would have to be a speed job then. Doing some minor warm ups to get his legs ready, he took a few steps back and then broke out in a dash, slashing the hedges with bone swords and making his way to the other side. Yes, this was a good method as long as he was fast enough to get past their regeneration in time.

Going in the direction he presumed was correct, it didn't take him long to find the Tri-Wizard cup in the middle of the maze sitting atop a pedestal. He walked slowly towards the cup while keeping an eye on his surroundings, in case a guardian for the thing was around. Sensing no current danger he wrapped his hand around the cup's handle…and gasped as he felt himself being dragged somewhere.

Up in the stands…

Dumbledore was shocked. A bright light had erupted from the middle of the maze…someone had done it! Upon inspection however, neither combatant nor cup was visible. Disturbed, Albus gathered a small entourage and moved to investigate.

Upon arriving, the magical trail of a portkey was apparent. It seemed that someone had escaped the maze…or was forcibly taken. Paling, he ordered his group to search the maze for any sign of the cup, if it was what he thought it was then he was in deep shit.

With Kimimaro…

He awoke with a small groan to find himself strapped to something and a small rat-looking man was trying to cut him, and failing, with a small pathetic knife. The fool, something so blunt and ill cared for could never hope to harm one such as him. He addressed the rat man.

"You, vermin." He said and he got a shocked and angry look from the man, who tried to act threatening but failing. "Cease your pathetic attempts at what you are doing and let me go now." He ordered calmly, no need to get angry for something like this.

"S-shut up, you!" Came the stuttered reply. Wow, great comeback rat- boy! "J-just s-sit there and s-shut up." With that, the vermin left him to tied to whatever it was he was tied to and moved a good distance away, towards a smoking pot of some kind.

"**He's right you know Wormtail**." Came a snake-like voice that eerily reminded him of his former master. "**You are quite pathetic**." This got laughs from the surrounding people, who Kimimaro could recognise by their outfits…these were the trash that tried to attack him back in that village before he was kidnapped. Watching everything with an impassive face he heard the voice hiss out again.

"**But you are not totally useless…you did manage to get the boy's blood from his injury in the second trial despite how old it was when it finally reached me**." Kimimaro blinked, they needed his blood? Was this some kind of sick cult dedicated to collecting artefacts relating to him? Like his pictures or, dare he say it, his underwear?

"**It was also good of you to charm the cup in Barty's place…I knew he would have slipped up sooner or later…**"

The now named Wormtail looked like he received an early Christmas present, pleased that he could help his master in whatever way he could.

"Yes master! Anything for you master!" He said excitedly. "What should I do now, sir?" He questioned and the voice had taken on a strange quality.

"**Hmm…I suppose you could…disappear**." Before Wormtail could protest, a sickly green light connected with his chest, killing him instantly. The cloaked men and women laughed before one cut off the now dead mans hand and placed it into the cauldron, finalising the ritual.

"**SILENCE!**" The voice yelled and, before his eyes, Kimimaro watched as the smoking pot started to bubble and from within came something out of a horror movie.

Skin as pale as the moon, ribs sticking out in a disgusting fashion that reminded him of someone with seriously bad anorexia. His face looked stretched out and dead looking, with slit marks for nostrils and no teeth. His eyes were a piercing red not too dissimilar from the Sharingan eyes minus the little black marks and his head was completely without hair. In Kimimaro's opinion he looked like an adult version of a foetus. Suddenly, the man's snake-like voice rang out once more.

"…Someone robe me." With that, a masked man with pale blond hair reverently took of his cloak and wrapped it over the shoulders of the man-foetus and watched as he slowly turned around and smiled a devilish smile at Kimimaro.

"…I have been waiting for this, Harry Potter." Kimimaro blinked in confusion and mild irritance, why did these people sometimes call him that ridiculous sounding name? He didn't specialise in pottery, he was a shinobi. "…But I see it in your eyes, that you have no clue who I am referring to, do you?…no matter, I have unfinished business with you, release him!" With that, Kimimaro felt the ropes binding him lessen and he landed on his feet to look impassively at the foetus and his friends.

"Draw your wand, boy." Kimimaro blinked. His what? Oh right! The stick. He pulled it out from a compartment in his lavender tunic. He hadn't really used the wand in duelling much as he only used it for his basic necessities such as cleaning or stealth (well, stealth was a necessity to him anyway). Gingerly, he decided to humour the man, who smiled.

"I suppose I should introduce myself as I am quite polite…I am Lord Voldemort." Kimimaro recognised that name. This must be the man that so many people feared…well, looking like that it wasn't hard to imagine why, this guy looked like something straight out of a horror movie. Suddenly, the man threw a red spell at him and he had to dodge to the side rather fast. This guy was in a different league than most of the other trash it seemed…he might be able to get a decent warm-up here.

With that thought, he sent a stunning spell at the man and watched as he easily deflected it…no, magic wouldn't be that much help here if this man was who he said he was. He would have to rely on his Shikotsumyaku. He pulled out twin bone swords and charged. Voldemort, seeing this, was briefly surprised before he conjured up a set of ethereal swords to engage the boy with.

Kimimaro had smashed through the ghostly swords with ease and, in a surprising move, stabbed one of Voldemort's cloaked men in a sneaky underhanded way in the leg. Voldemort sneered.

"You have little honour of the art of duelling then?" The he burst out laughing. "Yes, let us enjoy this for it has been such a long time…" With that Kimimaro charged as Voldemort summoned Nagini to his side, which surprised the boy at the sight of the large snake that looked big enough to count as a mid level summon. Voldemort stroked the snake.

"My dear Nagini, please assist me in eliminating this pest would you?" He asked and the snake unwrapped itself from Voldemort at jumped into the air with its fangs aimed to pierce into the boy's shoulder. As Nagini tried to bite into the boy, her teeth were met and smashed by an under layer of a bone like armour. Screaming in agony at the loss of her teeth, she never saw the bone spike that impaled her through the head, instantly killing her. Voldemort snarled.

"How dare you kill my beloved Nagini?" He roared at the impassive white haired youth. "Death Eaters! Kill him!" He screamed as his followers drew their wands and prepared to engage the boy in battle.

Kimimaro cursed. While he could deal with these trash any other day, he was tired from the maze and thus was slowing down a lot. As soon as he was about to get hit by a sickly green curse from Man-foetus, he felt himself get pulled out of the way by someone. He heard Voldemort growl angrily at the arrivals.

To Kimimaro's shock, the old man Dumbledore and a small entourage of what looked like Wizarding soldiers appeared from out of nowhere. The old man gazed defiantly at Voldemort with his wand drawn, along with his bodyguards.

"Stand down, Tom!" He called to Man-foetus named Voldemort, who bristled. "You can save yourself a lot of hassle if you give up now!" Voldemort sneered at the old man.

"Do not call me by that name, I am Lord Voldemort!" He shouted. "And me? Give myself up? Don't make me laugh you old codger!" With that, the graveyard was covered in a plethora of multi-coloured lights, shining brilliantly in the night. Kimimaro, who was lying on his back, closed his eyes in exhaustion…his illness was acting up once more with the wand out of his reach.

Apparently, Dumbledore noticed the boy faint into a slumber and ordered Remus to help carry him away via portkey, which angered Voldemort greatly.

"You old fool! What have you done? You ruined a perfectly good opportunity! Retreat! Retreat now you imbeciles!" He cried to his shocked Death Eaters, in which the ones that were conscious after Kimimaro's assault apparated away in a hurry, not wanting to be arrested or go against their orders.

As soon as the group left, the Auror entourage quickly moved to intercept the unconscious and dead Death Eaters and place them in magic restraining cuffs or carting the dead away. Dumbledore looked off into the night sky with a reminiscent look upon his features.

"I wonder…what would have happened if we arrived too late?" He questioned to himself. The stars in the sky shone a little brighter, as if trying to reassure the old man.

Sometime later, the entourage of Albus Dumbledore returned carrying an injured Kimimaro Kaguya along with a broken Tri-wizard cup. Albus Dumbledore had refused to comment anything that happened and had promised to reveal all in due time, for now he had to make sure that the boy was safe in a hospital bed.

Said boy woke up a day later, in a cold sweat trying to remember what happened that night. He grabbed his chest as he forcefully coughed up a small amount of blood, alerting the matron to his now awakened state.

"You shouldn't move around so suddenly, boy!" She chided as she got him some form of a potion. "Here, drink it. It'll help you recover slightly." He gingerly looked at the green liquid as if it would kill him but he drank it anyway. He wasn't that knowledgeable in the art of healing anyway…

It worked slightly, the pain in his chest was slightly dulling, but this wouldn't replace the wand that had been doing a good job at keeping his illness at bay. Shaking his head, he gave a mental reflection of his performance in the battle…and found it quite pathetic.

He had allowed those trash to actually harm him. He must be getting weaker…he would have to remedy that through training, which he realised he had been lacking in recently. He couldn't afford to rely on only his Taijutsu and Shikotsumyaku anymore…he would have to start branching out more into the subjects of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. As he recalled back with his time in Oto, he then realised that he had been quite biased in his neglect of the other two shinobi arts, merely thinking them as flashy wasteful techniques that took up way too much chakra…perhaps he would have to delve into these arts, and maybe those 'Dark Arts' that these Wizards said with trepidation. Those curses that the Foetus-man and his cohorts used were much more effective than the foolish child-like ones taught at Hogwarts, particularly that sickly green one that killed the rat man in one shot. That would be a shinobi's wet dream to have a technique with that much power…

He shook his head. No, power corrupts and if he planned on using those moves. He would have to keep a level head when experimenting with them in case they drove him to what that Voldemort fool became.

He suddenly had a thought…could he convert the effects of those spells into his jutsu? It certainly seemed possible as new jutsu were probably being created right now even as he lay in bed. If he did convert the spells to jutsu, then the needless wand movements wouldn't be needed for the technique as it would run through hand seals instead, making it much faster and deadlier…This was perfect and flawless, he had to get to work!

A few days later…

Luna had visited him in the hospital wing to see him, which made a change, as she was the first and only one to visit. He had pondered with the idea of informing her of his plan of magic jutsu conversion but decided not to on the account of the girl not knowing anything about his jutsu techniques.

A while later, he was finally out of the hospital and into the clearing of the forbidden forest, where he would now be updating his jutsu reserves. He was currently sitting on a small hollow stump reading through a scroll marked 'Suiton'. He figured it would be best to play to his affinity rather than start on a new one, which could take months to master where if he used his affinity it could take a week at least. Although he did manage to learn Raiton: Gian some time ago, he apparently didn't want to use that move, as it would have caused too much collateral damage and drained his reserves. No, he needed a good-ranged attack that took only a portion of his chakra to use.

Apparently, the move he was trying to learn was the Suiryudan no Jutsu, or Water Dragon bullet, that summoned a clear blue dragon that could extend to all ranges…a good addition to what would be his slowly growing arsenal alongside the Raiton: Gian in terms of his ranged repertoire.

At first, he had only managed to produce a small sized dragon the size of his arm. This would be improved over time in a week due to his good chakra control, as he had managed to create a decently sized dragon that was almost as big as the one he fought in that tournament. He would work on multiple dragons…but not now, he had to start on his Dark Arts research…No, he wouldn't be weak ever again.

Entering the Restricted section of the library was ridiculously easy as the librarian, Madam Pince or something, was getting on in years and he had managed to stealthily sneak through to the forbidden abode.

Upon entering, he created a Mizu bunshin to help him collect any books on the Dark Arts that he could find. Absently flicking through a small history book, he idly heard his clone reappear behind him with a puff of smoke.

"…We have secured the most we could find, which wasn't that much. The wizards are much smarter than we thought and had burned a majority of the books following an incident a few years ago." Kimimaro nodded as he flicked through the covers. There were only 5 noteworthy books among the pathetic pile so he dismissed his clones without a word and began to read into the cold dark night.

The next day…

Kimimaro sighed tiredly as he continued down the corridor for the next lesson.

The killing curse wasn't as brilliant as the book made out to be as the spell was just a very large concentrated amount of killing intent, which explained why these people could easily get killed from it if they had no resistance to it. They were weak…

The only useful spells he could garner from the book were the Imperio and Cruciatus curses. They were the perfect torture devices for a shinobi! With the Imperio, one could order an enemy shinobi to kill off his own comrades. The Cruciatus, or Crucio for short, would be the more helpful in getting info from a target but the only drawback was that the victim had a very likely chance to slip into insanity if what he overheard about a boy called Long bottom's or Big Asses' parents.

As he leaned against the wall, he wondered to himself as to how he would incorporate these spells into jutsu. Contrary to the many beliefs of the younger generation, jutsu creation was one of the hardest paths that a shinobi could take.

It wasn't the hand seals that were a problem, for one could easily create a chain of seals to use. No, the problem was regulating the chakra into doing what you wanted it to do, make it replicate what you want. Without this, the most anyone would get would be wasted chakra. He would have to catalogue these thoughts for the time being…

Kimimaro sighed again as he walked through to the library. People were becoming too nosy around him he noticed, as that bushy haired girl kept glaring at him slightly over the top of the book she was reading…honestly, didn't anyone here have any tact? Any stealth at all? How disappointing these wizards were…

Hermione Granger glared at the white haired teen across from her who stared back impassively, making her a slightly angrier.

She liked to consider herself the smartest witch of her generation, being able to recite spells perfectly and respond to nearly every question the teachers asked, well except Snape who for some reason took a heavy dislike of her when she constantly raised her hand to answer questions and not give anyone else a chance.

It wasn't her fault that everyone else wasn't as smart as her as they didn't study as hard as she did. So what if a majority of her friends were books? So what if she was a teachers pet? She wanted to go places thank you very much and was willing to upstage anyone to do it…

Then he came along and ruined it all!

That white haired guy had suddenly turned up in the year below and was quickly rising to become smarter than her. She didn't like having competition as she wasn't used to having others as smart as her. The teachers were actually starting to pay more attention to his progress rather than hers and that irritated her to no end…

The worse part was that it looked like he rarely studied the texts! He just literally came in one day, stared at what was happening in class, and just replicated it. It had taken her a week to be able to do one of those spells and yet he managed to do it in only a few minutes! This was a huge crime in her book, she thought as she continued to glare.

Kimimaro was currently glaring in irritance at the bookshelves that didn't give him any useful information. Some of these books sounded worse than what was in Orochimaru's collection.

"Who the hell would want to learn about…" Here he paused and pulled out a random book. "…The Mating Rituals of Giants? Okay, that is actually quite disturbing…" He said gingerly and handled the book as if were a rag unfit to be anywhere in his presence.

"Useless…" He commented and he could have sworn he felt the glare of the bushy head girl increase at his insult of the text. Not caring either way, he skulked out of the library, disappointed and empty-handed…

"The wrackspurts are strong around this one…" He heard a familiar dreamy voice comment and he turned around to eye the girl in amusement as she continued to smile at him.

"Indeed…is there any way to get rid of these menaces?" He questioned and the girl seemingly pondered it for a moment.

"There is…but I'm not sure if I should tell you…" Was she being playful? Well, this was a first…

Then, to his shock, she suddenly came really close to him and pecked him on the cheek.

"There! All gone!" She chirped happily with rosy hued cheeks before running down the hall. Well, she was certainly getting bolder, Kimimaro thought to himself. He wasn't sure how to feel about that…

What else would he do today? He had already finished up his research of the different kinds of magic this world had to offer and now he had free time.

Perhaps he would go and take a look at this barrier that connected the two different worlds together. He had been meaning to look earlier but with his research taking up his time, he hadn't put as much thought into the topic as he would have liked.

Walking through the winter village of Hogsmeade, he took note of many students, some older and some younger than him buying what appeared to be sugary snacks from some of the food vendors. Perhaps this was a resort of some kind for children? Not that he cared…

"Finally…" Kimimaro groused in annoyance as he approached the barrier at the edge of Hogsmeade near the huge abandoned shack hanging over the cliff.

The thing was rather strange. It resembled a large translucent wall made up of what appeared to be some kind of green jelly-like substance. Reaching out a hesitant hand, he was forced to quickly retract it as small tendrils of the jelly latched on to it, forcing him to use a bone sword to slash through the disgusting appendages.

"Dammit…" He cursed. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Apparently he had underestimated these wizards. This was, dare he admit it, a very good shield. If he was good at sealing, he might have been able to do something but he had put the topic off and now it was coming back to bite him.

"…Seems like I'll have to ask someone for assistance." He said with a frown. He hated relying on others for it never got him anywhere, even in the Elemental Nations, he only relied on himself.

"Perhaps Remus-san could assist me…" He wondered idly. The scruffy man was probably, aside from Luna, the most decent person to converse with since he arrived here and actually had a better ranking in Kimimaro's book other than trash. "Though where would I find him?" He questioned. Where would the man be? Did he have other students like him to teach privately? Oh well, he would have to search for him once the school year ended…which wasn't too long now.

What would he be doing though? Would he be going back to the Elemental Nations? He wasn't sure. When he was kidnapped he was sure that he would be going back with certainty yet now…

He was actually unashamed to admit that he had formed a few small bonds with the people here. Remus (a very small friendship bond), Luna…wait. That was it. Those were the only bonds he had here. Surely there had to be another reason for his seeming reluctance to return to the Elemental Nations?

His mind was set on going back…but for some reason he couldn't fathom; his heart wanted him to stay here…

"What do I do now?" Kimimaro whispered to nobody as he gazed over the cliff, looking at the small glowing lights of people's homes as they shined in the darkness around them.

If he did go back to the Elemental Nations, what then? More senseless violence? Sure that was what he would be specialised to do but was that it? Was that all there was to his life, just fighting? He needed to ponder to himself for a while, wonder what his purpose was besides fighting…!

Kimimaro's eyes suddenly widened as he started coughing, rather violently at that. He fell to his knees, gasping as a particular vile sounding cough escaped his lips, along with a few drops of blood. He clutched his chest in pain while blood dribbled down the side of his mouth.

"D-dammit! Even with this wand…" Kimimaro cursed. How much time did he have left? Before this damn disease consumed him like it almost did back in that fight with the genin?

Lying in the snow, he idly wondered when the damn disease would just finish him off instead of prolonging his suffering…

He never noticed two sets of blue eyes watching him in worry. One belonging to a girl who had unknowingly taken great interest in him and the other belonging to an old man who made one too many mistakes in life.

This was one of them, being unable to save the son of a pair of his favourite students…no. He would still be able to help; it would just require a ton of research. Perhaps he could ask the boy for a few blood samples to send to St. Mungo's? He would have to work through the night…

The girl, who had been watching from behind a gathering of trees walked slowly over to Kimimaro's body and sat next to him. His breathing seemed rather haggard as he watched the girl, who placed his head on her lap, as he gazed at her in confusion. The girl smiled sadly as she brushed a strand of blonde hair out of her vision.

"Fate really does have it out for you doesn't she?" She asked and Kimimaro couldn't agree more.

**END OF CHAPTER.**

**Hope you liked this chapter as I was having a little difficulty in writing it.**

**As you can see, I didn't allow Kimimaro to completely decimate Voldemort. My reasoning for this is because he is the main antagonist, obviously he would be strong. This will allow the protagonist to develop a resolve to get stronger. I am only really doing this because I get really frustrated with reading God-like character fics. Now, don't get me wrong, some God fics are really enjoyable but it does kind of kill any hopeful plot if the main character can just kill anyone in the blink of an eye. **

**Also, I don't really like bashing Dumbledore too much here. I'm trying to make him as someone who feels guilty that Kimimaro/Harry had to grow up the way he did, as a soldier. Now, he will be trying to help Kimimaro instead of hindering him, starting with his illness. **

**Also, from now on, I'll try to make this story sound like more than just highlights from now on. **

**Many thanks,**

**Endo.**


	6. Chapter 6

**My loyal and faithful readers, I apologise for the delay in this chapter for I have just started my second year at college and am currently swamped with assignments (Grr). What this means is that the updates for my fics may be slow **_**at times**_** but I won't be giving up on any of my stories…yet. Anyway, I will not deprive you any more so I shall get on with it…**

**Now personally, I do not like this chapter since there is little to no action but I'll let the readers see what they think…please don't be harsh .**

**Chapter 6**

Kimimaro wished that he hadn't opened his eyes so quickly. His journey into the realm of unconsciousness was not pleasant and it was something that he had experienced numerous times. Squinting his eyes, for the sight of completely white walls was not healthy for him, he looked around.

This room, which was definitely a hospital room, was slightly different than the one that he had visited up at Hogwarts and in the Elemental Nations. Stray pieces of complex medical equipment lay scattered across different tables in a messy cluster, making him wonder what they had planned to do to him seeing as there were some kind of surgical scissors.

A sense of panic welled up inside him for a brief moment until he remembered to get a grip on his emotions. Such was the life of a shinobi, to jump to quick conclusions and be condemned to a life of paranoia and emptiness. The fact that he was so young gave testament to this, for he was and still is one of the greatest shinobi of his generation, and that came from Orochimaru a few times when he was allowed to spar. He shouldn't be afraid of mere surgical equipment…

Looking to his bed side, Kimimaro was a bit shocked that a few people had brought him get well gifts, which was something he had never experienced before. Manoeuvring through a pile of the gifts, most from fans who had seen him in the tournament, he idly wondered if it was commonplace for people to do this. Slowly but steadily, Kimimaro moved to get off the bed, wincing a little as his chest began to ache. Still, he had been fighting this damn disease for a majority of his life, no way was he going to let it claim him now.

So, fighting off the pain of his disease, he moved to get changed into his attire when he heard a slight tap on the door. Shouting out a 'come in!' Kimimaro was surprised at who it was that entered.

"Hello there, young Kimimaro." It was that old man who kidnapped him, Albus Dumbledore. "I hope that you weren't too uncomfortable here, for your condition required much greater medical procedures than Hogwarts could…welcome to St. Mungo's hospital."

"So…you brought me here?" Kimimaro asked, watching the man nod. "…Thank you."

It was hard for him to be angry with the man any longer, after all he did save his life from that Voldemort character and he supposed that he should be grateful…even if he hated to do so. Seeing the man's skill in fighting the man-foetus looking Voldemort, Kimimaro couldn't help the grudging respect that welled up slightly. Of course, he'd respect any old man at his age who could do moves like he did…

"Dumbledore-san." Kimimaro fumbled a little on the name in his home language, for it was hard to pronounce. "Why am I here?" Dumbledore looked a little sad.

"I am afraid that you suffered a rather lethal heart failure as a result of your illness. Because my staff are mainly suited for minor injuries, we had to move you here where professionals could diagnose and treat your condition." He said. "Now, there are a few things that we need to talk about." He pulled up a chair and sat opposite to Kimimaro, who gazed impassively back at him.

"Forgive an old man's mistake, for this should have been done when you first arrived and it cannot wait any longer." He said. "I have seen it in your eyes my boy, that you are confused by many things that have occurred here and I would be willing to answer to the best of my abilities so I encourage you to ask me anything that is on your mind." Kimimaro thought over it for a moment.

"Hm…very well." He said before staring at Dumbledore. "My first question…why do some of the people in this world refer to me as another name? I noticed that both you and that Voldemort person called me by the name of Harry Potter, explain."

"Ah…Should have seen that coming sooner I suppose." Dumbledore hummed. "Well, you do remember the first time we met under those unpleasant circumstances?" Kimimaro's eye twitched a little at the reminder but showed no other facial reaction.

"Well, my reason for calling you such is because I have come to believe that you _are_ Harry Potter." Dumbledore said, getting no reaction from Kimimaro, he continued. "I base this, of course, on your eyes, for they are the same colour as your mother, Lily Potter, as well as the faint trace of dark magic that lingers on your forehead…where I presume a cursed scar once resided."

"My…mother?" It came out strained and confused. Kimimaro never believed that he had a family at all and the word sounded foreign on his tongue. He thought he was nothing more than a bastard child that nobody wanted and dumped him in the orphanage. The orphanage matron, while not brutal, often took pleasure in saying things like that to upset the children and make them feel even more unloved…not that it ever worked on him, no he was too clever for that.

Still, the fact that this man claimed to know his mother of all people was a little shocking and rather hard to believe but for some reason, Kimimaro could sense that the older man wasn't lying.

"A wonderful woman, unfortunately taken by death's embrace at a young age…a true tragedy." Dumbledore lamented. "She was a fiery girl, with a temper that rivalled that of a Hungarian Horntail, yet still carried the air of a kind loving woman." He said, watching as Kimimaro seemed to be soaking up the information like a sponge. "Now, the scar, as I mentioned was given to you on the day of her and your father's deaths." Kimimaro leaned in closer.

"The man that killed your family and marked you as his equal…is Lord Voldemort." Kimimaro's eyes briefly widened before returning to their blank state. "…And that is why he referred to you as Harry, for he could sense the lingering magic he left behind, which brings me to my next point." He suddenly pointed at Kimimaro's forehead, not touching of course, otherwise said wrinkly long appendage would be broken off in a heartbeat.

"What happened to the scar? From what I can see, it no longer exists and I am most curious as to how you managed to remove it." Kimimaro inwardly debated on what he would tell the old man, not wanting to go into too much detail of the very painful surgery required to remove it.

Orochimaru had often said that it was one of the most exciting operations he had bared witness to, for when the surgery took place, a strange seeping mass of dark green had supposedly escaped from his forehead as soon as the chakra scalpel made contact, taking the form of what appeared to be a rather serpentine-like angry face. Kabuto, who had been in charge of the operation, had been sending him those freaky glances whenever he thought Kimimaro wasn't looking, as if he wanted to see if he could get more out of him…judging him.

He was thankful then, that Orochimaru kept the man at bay with other missions, only allowing him near Kimimaro when he had to take his medication and that was usually once every so often.

"…My former master, Orochimaru, he managed to get rid of it using a very complex form of…magic." He didn't want to have to explain the complexity of using chakra on wounds to someone who hadnt a clue as to what chakra was. By replacing the word with magic, he would most likely be able to get some more info on the different types of magic.

Plus, it would be hard to tell if Kimimaro was lying because of his permanent blank look.

"I see…perhaps it was a soul removal ritual? The sheer power that must have taken…" Dumbledore began to mumble under his breath before looking back up at Kimimaro.

"Well, I can see that this is breaching into unnecessary areas, so let's answer another question." Kimimaro nodded at him.

"If I _am_ this…Harry Potter…then why has nobody seen fit to inform me of this earlier?" Dumbledore sighed.

"Due to your…unsavoury disposition at the time as well as the continued display of antagonistic actions, I felt it best to wait until you began to think rationally once again and calmed down." Dumbledore said, twinkle full blast. "Now that you have, I found that this was the best time." Kimimaro had to admit that he had behaved a little childishly but surely he couldn't be faulted for that? He was understandably confused and angry at being kidnapped but now that he had calmed down, he would now be able to think rationally once more.

"I see…" Kimimaro muttered. "By the way, how exactly did I end up in the orphanage when I was younger? Surely my…parents…had something planned out in cases like these? Like a guardian or something?" The word 'parents' felt foreign on his tongue and it made him feel strange whenever he said it. Nonetheless, he was determined to get the answer from the old man, who suddenly looked years older.

"One of my many mistakes…" The old man muttered before looking back up. "Years ago, I delivered you to Petunia Dursley, your last remaining blood relative, and her husband Vernon. Now, this is the part that becomes a little foggy, for I truly had no idea that she would do such a thing…"

"What? What did she do?" Kimimaro prompted, trying to milk every bit of information he could get for his own purposes. Dumbledore stared guiltily at him.

"It was either her or her husband I cannot be sure which, but they were the ones that I suspected to have left you at the orphanage somewhere in Asia." Here Kimimaro felt the need to interrupt.

"I think I understand…my 'aunt' or my 'uncle' were the ones responsible for my abandonment." He said slowly. "…But how could they have gotten past the barrier? It seems rather impenetrable when I took a look…" The last part was muttered but Dumbledore heard him, responding with a sharp glance.

"You…you can see the barrier? But that's impossible! It is said to be invisible to the naked eye! Most wizards and witches can barely feel it let alone see it, so how…" He exclaimed and Kimimaro was now starting to regret his slip up as he fell into his 'happy place'. The old man certainly got going when you gave him something interesting to study…

"…Unless Lorkan's theory has been misinterpreted? Could we have been wrong all this time?" Kimimaro decided to gain the man's attention once more before he could continue his rant. "Unless they hired someone who could see to it to take you away from their home, yes that would seem plausible but were they really that desperate? And how did they contact someone with the knowledge?"

"Not to be rude but…I have more questions." People often said that he was blunt to an extreme, even when dealing with overemotional people and often ending up insulting them simply to shut them up. Well, those people were right and he was not going to change his personality for anyone. "Why did you kidnap me in the first place? Wouldn't politely asking me be the appropriate solution?"

"Ah yes, well after that scuffle you had with Voldemort's forces, we needed to make sure that you were not hostile towards us. Of course, some of the more…excitable members of my organization were rather vocal in their opinions to take you by force…for which, I apologise. I had, by no means, intended to cause you harm."

"…That is irrelevant now." Kimimaro said after a moment of silence. "My final question is this…can I see them? My 'parents', I mean." Dumbledore smiled a little under his beard, not noticing Kimimaro's voice turn to that of discomfort when he said the word parents.

"Yes, I'll see if I can fish out some old albums…" He said jovially before turning serious. "Now, there is something I would like to address with you…in particular, your illness that resulted in your stay here." He got up and walked around the room.

"What about it?" Kimimaro stated gruffly, not liking this change in conversation nor wanting to talk about his only weakness. Nevertheless, Dumbledore continued on despite the mood he had just set.

"Going over some of the charts, I have found out from the medics here that your illness is steadily growing worse, even with the wand acting as a safeguard." He said. "…and it is also believed that the cause of this sudden worsening of your condition…is that mark on your chest." He pointed at the curse seal on Kimimaro's torso, prompting the boy's eyes to widen a little.

His gift from Orochimaru was…killing him? But Orochimaru had been a genius, wanting to obtain every single piece of knowledge, gaining the necessary skills to easily create the seals…yet it was killing him. Had this been programmed into the seal? He knew of course, that the seal was designed to sway the bearer to Orochimaru's side but did it truly eat away at them until they were nothing more than a mere shell, only able to have enough coherent thought to serve the snake man? Sure, Orochimaru had been forced to move from body to body in order to preserve his life, sometimes using those marked by the seal, but was this the price to pay for a simple burst of power? The thought made him feel very uncomfortable and for once, he found himself questioning his former master...something he would not normally, if ever, do.

"…The problem with this is that the mark, Merlin knows what it is, has been deep rooted into your system for so long that any attempt to remove it would be fatal to your well being due to your reliance upon it." Dumbledore said, having been talking to himself until Kimimaro snapped out of his thoughts to pay attention to him.

"The only way that you can now survive this disease is to somehow neutralise the mark, though not completely removing it." He didn't want to attract Kimimaro's anger if he said the wrong words and, from the look on his face, Dumbledore thought that the boy was considering something over in his head.

'What should I do?' Kimimaro felt helpless, and that made him angry and lost. He had never, in all of his 15 years of living, asked for anyone's help and Kami be damned if he was going to start now… but perhaps the old man was right? That his gift from the man he was proud to call father in secret was a severe threat to his well being, killing him? Well, he would have to set up some stipulations of course, for a shinobi will always try to turn any situation in their favour.

"I see, you mean to seal it somewhat…I _suppose_ I could agree to it on a few conditions. One, this never gets out to the public." Dumbledore nodded in understanding, knowing all too well what could await the boy if they knew of what he was burdened with. "Two, I do not wish for it to be permanently sealed at the moment because if what you say is true, then it could pose a dangerous threat if it is immediately cut off from my body."

"Indeed…" Dumbledore interrupted. Still, Kimimaro continued on.

"And finally…" Kimimaro paused in his wording. "I would like to have any information you may have obtained in regards to this barrier that separates our worlds." Seeing Dumbledore's sharp look, he sighed. "For studying purposes I assure you."

'Yeah right…' He internally thought to himself while watching the old man for anything that he could exploit…and found nothing. The old man had a good poker face almost as good as his own and Kimimaro couldn't tell what the man was thinking.

"Hm…I suppose I could afford to share a few texts on my own theories on one condition." He said, and Kimimaro narrowed his eyes but nodded anyway.

"I would like to have your word that what you use the information for will not be for any unjust or dark purposes." Kimimaro tilted his head but agreed nonetheless. "It is for safety precautions, I'm sure you understand." With that, Dumbledore got up from his chair and smiled at him under his beard.

"I suppose I shall leave you to get better…I'll see you back at Hogwarts, Mr?" Kimimaro blinked when he suddenly realised what Dumbledore was asking.

"…Continue calling me Kimimaro, for it was the name I grew up with and I will not change it." He said. After all, he never even knew of this name 'Harry Potter' until recently and he was quite sure that despite his parents naming him such, he had never been called that until recently so why should he be referred to as Harry? It made no sense to him…besides, the name sounded too foreign to him, it made him feel uncomfortable.

Dumbledore looked sad for a moment but easily concealed it with a grin as he left the room. Sighing, Kimimaro got up from the bed and walked around the room, not liking to remain in one spot for a long period of time. After all, a moving target is harder to hit than a still one and his paranoia of such thoughts caused him to behave like this.

Kimimaro never noticed that the elderly man had used a wizarding oath when creating the earlier deal between the two of them…

Some time later…

"Ah…Mr Kaguya, please try not to move around so much." An elderly nurse came into the room to check up on him. Nodding at her briefly, he watched as she took up one of the visitor chairs and sat across from him, holding some papers.

"Now, from your files you have been reported as suffering from an 'incurable' illness?" She asked, gaining another nod. "Well, because of the unknown nature of that mark on your chest, we are understandably cautious about how to deal with this you see." She handed him one of the papers.

"Now, the sealing method is a rather complex form of magic that ties in with medicine, usually used on cases such as these." She then handed him a quill, something that was still trouble to write with for him. "Seeing as you have asked for a temporary seal, we have to get a signature from you before we proceed." Kimimaro took the quill gingerly, trying to guide it to the paper and hopefully not get his hands dirty as he signed his signature…god, this place was so backwards, even by the Elemental Nations standards…

'At least we had pens…' He groused to himself before handing the woman the paper.

"Very good, Mr Kaguya." With that she got up and made her way over to the door. "The procedure will begin in an hour."

After she left, Kimimaro sighed in annoyance, wondering why they just couldn't get it over with immediately and save everyone the unnecessary hassle. Of course, he had seen occasions where there was a time preparation period where loved ones could visit their friends before they were carted off into surgery. His conundrum was why they were giving him this period, for he didn't know anyone that he considered a 'loved one'…

He was cut out of his musings when he heard a tapping noise coming from the door to his room, immediately causing his head to snap in that direction. Warily, he called out a 'enter' and decided to wait as the door began to open…to reveal a familiar head of blonde hair and pale eyes. She smiled dreamily at him as he let his guard fall slightly.

"Hello! I thought I'd pop in and see how you were doing." Luna said. "You gave me quite a scare, you know. I thought that perhaps you had fallen victim to the machinations of the Japanese Jaggerwack and finally went off the deep end." Her dream-like voice didn't change yet Kimimaro was almost certain that there was a concealed worry hidden behind her eyes despite her self assured opinion that these 'Jaggerwack' things were the cause of his problems.

"…My apologies, Luna-san." He said, not knowing what he could otherwise say to make the situation any better. Damn his illness…

"Well, I don't think that I am quite satisfied with that." She said and Kimimaro was amused when she lightly tapped her foot as her face formed a mock pondering expression, placing a finger on her chin. "No...I think that you will have to make it up to me somehow…"

Now, if it were anyone other than her, Kimimaro would have likely killed the person who would demand favours of him, usually resulting in him getting scolded by others for either being too brutal (Kabuto) or having no sense of humour (usually from Kidomaru or Tayuya, whenever she wasn't cursing everyone). Still, he wondered exactly when Luna had become exempt from this list as he watched her look over the multitude of different gifts he had received from his 'fans' during the tournament.

"And how am I going to do that?" He shot back, watching as she stared into his green eyes with those pale silvery orbs that he would often liken to that of the Yamanaka clan...

"Hm…I know! I'll get Daddy to see if you can come with us on our annual snorcack hunt! It'll be so much fun!" She said excitedly…well, about as excited as she got, which wasn't a big difference when one compared it to her usual demeanour. During this explanation, Kimimaro fell silent.

'She wants to spend time with me outside the curriculum? But…if I wish to go back home, through that repulsive looking barrier…then does that mean that I won't be able to see her again?' He thought to himself, conflict building up inside. Why was he thinking this way? Had he grown too attached to the girl already in such a short time? Sure, she was nice and didn't yap his ears off like his 'comrades', and her stories were quite amusing at times…

'What a foreign feeling this is.' He thought to himself as he stared up at the white ceiling, emerald green eyes blank.

"You are certainly well liked…" She commented idly, breaking Kimimaro's thought pattern as she held up a solid gold watch and examined it with some kind of magnifying glass. Kimimaro couldn't help but agree judging from the amount of things he had received and he wasn't one to complain about being given free stuff. He'd take what he could get…

"Ah…" He said as a form of agreement after an awkward delayed silence. "It is…unusual. I have never received any of these 'get well' gifts before at my previous visits to hospitals." This was true for the hospitals in the Elemental Nations were very short on space and had opted to get patients out of the way as quickly as possible in order to make room for more severe cases.

It was pretty much a 'Okay, you come in now…there, you better, now go go go!' scenario.

'Well, maybe not like Kabuto Yakushi's hospital.' Kimimaro thought with a grimace. That man enjoyed to torture anyone that ended up in his 'care' and had explicitly stated that he would do worse if you ever came back, often waving around medical equipment in a threatening manner. Unlike other hospitals, he would physically destroy you, exposing your body's secrets completely before half-heartedly throwing you back together again without the use of painkillers…sadist bastard.

The way his eyes gleamed menacingly whenever he was given a 'test subject', and his complete lack of mercy when operating on others gave the man a very notorious reputation amongst the Elemental Nations.

'Perhaps that is why Orochimaru hired him? Could be…' He thought to himself idly.

"Hellooooo!" Luna was waving her hand in front of his face, trying to get his attention. Suddenly, to his shock and slight panic, Luna pulled out what appeared to be a leek the size of a long sword and a very dark grin on her face. "Looks like the nargles have affected you in drones if you are that out of it. Only by shoving this leek up your bottom will they disperse…"

"W-wait!" Kimimaro cried out, thinking that this girl was as bad as the Yakushi bastard in terms of medical procedures. He didn't have time to get up and run for it as the girl had jumped on him, straddling his waist as she raised the leek up high…and promptly burst into what Kimimaro would dub as maniacal laughter.

"Hahaha! T-the look on your face!" She said between that uproarious laughter that only she could claim rights to. "O-oh dear! I wish I could record that…priceless!"

"That…was not funny." He said in all seriousness but the slight twitch of his lips gave him away. It was actually amusing though nobody would ever get him to burst out laughing over anything…and it was very scary for a short moment.

"You're happy now, right?" She asked and got a confused reaction out of Kimimaro.

"Happy?" He said it as if the word was alien to him. Luna nodded vigorously and he was afraid that her head would fall off.

"Yes, you seemed to carry the air of melancholy usually caused by the Siberian fluffnutter." She said and Kimimaro blinked owlishly, still not used to the bizarrely named creatures that Luna often spoke about. "Laughing is a good cure, as well as happy facial expressions."

'Do I even have a happy face?' He thought to himself in confusion.

"Everyone has a happy face!" Luna chirped, making Kimimaro wonder if she could read his mind, further increasing his suspicion of her being of Yamanaka descent. "Seeee?" With that, she grabbed his cheeks and stretched them into what would have been a grin on his face had his mouth been open. Instead it looked like a very big smile that he would never usually be seen with and quite frankly looked ridiculous...almost fox-like.

"W-what?" He said alarmed when she finally let go of his face with a giggle. Was this…playfulness? Luna was playing around with him…how strange. He had never played with others in the orphanage for he could never develop any true bonds with them due to his conflicting morality issues. In fact, his only bond was with Orochimaru and that was merely based upon devotion to his cause…so was he experiencing a bond with this girl?

The question in his mind was…what kind of bond is it? The girl did seem rather affectionate towards him…was this 'love' that she was giving him? How strange.

Looking up, he saw that Luna still hadn't gotten off him as she stared at him directly into his eyes. Now, despite never having much interest in any form of human attractiveness, he actually noticed Luna in a different light for the first time. Her pale blonde hair, while a little messy, was quite beautiful and her eyes, while a little wide, were rather unique on her in terms of colour. Many would think she was just plain strange looking yet for some reason, he found himself unable to look away.

'Why am I examining her like this?' He questioned himself in his head as he continued to stare into her eyes as they gradually got closer and closer, her face just mere inches from his own…

Until she began to turn red with some form of emotion before jumping off of him at a startling speed, straightening her school skirt out as she fought the redness away. He would have chuckled in amusement if he could, but settled for an amused grunt while she pouted at him.

The silence that followed was rather uncomfortable, with Luna fidgeting in her seat and Kimimaro seemingly staring around the room warily, as if something was going to jump out and kill him in his moment of weakness.

"…Thank you." The words sounded rather strange coming out of his mouth, but Kimimaro ignored it for the moment as Luna looked up at him. "For visiting me, I mean." The dreamy smile was back full force.

"Oh that's quite alright." She said. "You seemed to be quite lonely here so I thought I'd pop by." He blinked at her before a small, barely noticeable smile made its way across his face.

"I see…" He said. The girl smiled at him again while fiddling with something in her pocket.

Getting a raised eyebrow from Kimimaro, Luna simply smiled at him while placing an object in his hand, closing her own hand around his in a rather strange sign of affection. Once she removed her hand from his, he looked at her in confusion before opening his own hand…

In his palm was what appeared to be a golden locket, with rather intricate patterns that one would expect from such a relic. Running his hand over it, he looked over at Luna questioningly, who nodded at him to open it…and he did.

Inside was a picture, of two women to be exact. One looked like an older version of Luna, only with slightly darker blonde hair. She was smiling happily, sitting next to a woman with flaming red hair and…emerald green eyes not that dissimilar from his own. The picture itself was moving, much like those pictures that were hung up around the castle. He looked up at Luna in shock.

"…Who is this?" He asked in a daze, his mind working over what must have been a thousand conclusions as to what her answer would be.

"I…overheard your conversation with Professor Dumbledore." She said slightly sheepish before gaining a sad smile. "I'm sorry…" She apologised after noticing Kimimaro's blank face. He shook his head, still gazing at the picture.

"No…don't apologise." He said in an emotionless voice. "So…you know about…?" He trailed off.

"Yes…you are Harry Potter aren't you?" She stated more than asked before noticing his twitch of annoyance. "But I can see that you are quite uncomfortable being called such, am I right?" He gave a half hearted nod, still focusing on the image.

"Is this my…?" He said, noting that a strange emotion was welling up within him. "Mother?" The word was almost choked out, barely hidden behind his emotionless mask.

"Yes…her name is Lily, but I'm sure that the Professor already told you her name." She said. "The woman next to her is my mother…Selene Lovegood."

"According to father, your mother and mine used to be friends…not best friends mind you, but they were quite close despite their house differences with yours being in Gryffindor and mine being in Ravenclaw." She said. "I thought that, since Professor Dumbledore is getting on in years, it would be safer to give you something to go on in regards to your parents."

He was silent throughout all of this, gazing intently at the red haired woman smiling back at him, with her own emerald green orbs glittering happily as she hugged the blonde woman sitting next to her. The two women looked fairly young here, most likely just out of school and going out into the world…

To be taken at such a young age was cruel…a cruelty he knew all too well when he had been forced to murder others for his former master's goals.

"…Luna-san." He began and the girl jolted slightly at the sound of his voice. "I…" It was hard for him, as he hadn't actually had any experience in saying what he was about to say. Sure, anyone could fake it, some do so scarily well…yet he had never actually given a truthful version of this simple phrase.

"Thank you." That simple response of gratitude most likely had the most emotion that anyone had ever heard Kimimaro use. To think that someone would go through such lengths to cheer him up…he actually felt rather, what was the word? Touched? Yes, that was it, touched.

This girl had given him something of obviously great value, to safeguard with his life…he would not let her down. He would keep this relic safe…one of the few proofs that he had a family once.

Still, his shinobi persona kicked in yet again to cover this up with his emotionless mask…but the way he was clutching the locket tightly in his hand spoke of his resolve.

He would find out more about his past, who he was supposed to be, what he was supposed to be and…who he would never be. Had he not been taken to the Elemental Nations, what would have become of him? Would he have led a normal life of a child? Or worse…

'Would I have ended up like those who taunted this poor soul?' He thought to himself while looking at Luna as she continued to gaze at the gifts his admirers sent him.

Still, despite wanting to know more about who he would have become had he not been taken, he knew that he had little choice now in what was going to happen in the not so distant future. Someone like him didn't belong here, in this land of peace. He was a warrior, a soldier, and he always would be, destined to fight and end lives.

Somehow, fate would find a way to make sure he paid what he owed for saving his life when he was on death's door…

Looking over at Luna one more time, Kimimaro laid back on the bed, his eyes fixed on the tiles on the ceiling.

"**_Always…_**" He muttered under his breath.

**END OF CHAPTER 6!**

**Okay, again sorry for the delay! **

**Recently my Internet connection has been lagging so I was basically living on a 30% chance of getting it or waiting an eternity for it to load.**

**Still, I hope to have it fixed once I get a new router (I have a goddamn Voyager for crying out loud, and that's old!) so till then, please have patience.**

**On other notes, I am planning on re-writing my Naruto Bleach x-over, The Crow Flies Forever because I feel that I moved too fast with it. I may also do the same with my HP/ ToV x-over but I'll have to wait and see.**

**Okay then, about Kimimaro accepting his mark getting sealed…don't worry, he has other terms and conditions going on in his head, which he will eventually carry out so don't flame in the reviews, saying that 'oh he's giving in too easy' because he isn't. He is going to milk Dumbledore for everything he can get; he's stealthy like that…he just wont be doing it so soon. **

**About bashing the old man? I know, Dumbledore does have that tendency to keep things to himself and does believe what he is doing is right by shouldering the burdens. He's an old man and he makes mistakes and it kind of makes me feel bad about bashing him for it…as well as the fact that whenever people do bash him, they don't really have him do _anything_ as a bad guy other than _try_ to interfere and basically dismantle his character into that of an amateur wizard who makes stupid mistakes that he wouldn't usually make.**

**Anyway, time to stop this little rant of mine.**

**Many thanks, **

**Endo.**

**PS: I've been doing some research gathering as to what people want as Harry-is-? x-overs and I've come up with a few that could have some merit:**

**Harry-is-Nagato/Pain**

**Harry-is-Hidan (0.o)**

**Harry-is-Gabranth (FF12, from someone who sent me a message, not mentioning names because I value privacy of those who do).**

**Harry-is-Byakuya**

**and finally, Harry-is-Rock Lee...urgh! I shuddered just by writing that...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey all, here's another chapter! **

**Oh yeah, the poll I put up just ended and the result was…**

**Harry-is-Pain/Nagato by a landslide! **

**NOTE: That will most likely be the **_**last**_** Harry is idea that I'll be doing for a while, maybe I'll post a few little one shots but that's it…I just want to try writing new things (writing about the same characters get boring after a while, ya know…). Besides, I want to have a bit of variety in what I write…**

**Also, this chapter will not have that much from Kimimaro or Luna in it as I am introducing a second antagonist, dedicating this chapter to him since some people have mailed me about there not being enough bad guys in my fics.**

**Chapter 7**

*Beep!* *Beep!* *Beep!* *Beep!*

"Ready to begin everyone?" The lead doctor asked his surrounding subordinates, who nodded as one as they looked over their young white haired patient, currently unconscious thanks to the sedatives they put in his breakfast.

"Wands at the ready…and we shall commence the procedure. No cocking it up…" With that, a few of the doctors withdrew their wands from their pockets and holsters, each coming to point at the strange mark on their patients chest that currently seemed to be radiating a dark energy.

The wands slowly began to move across the boy's chest, careful not to touch the corrupted mark, each gently forming strange and intricate patterns that seemed to illuminate within the darkness of the room.

"So…what's this guy's story then?" One of the doctors began conversationally, as if not caring that he was currently performing a delicate operation.

"Some kind of life leeching thing…I don't know, those jackasses up in management wouldn't give me all the details." Another spoke out in a displeased voice. "Secretive fuckers…"

"Watch your language Jeremy!" A female doctor chided the now named Jeremy, who flinched slightly.

"Whatever Gloria, you do this stuff everyday! We, who came from lowly desk work jobs simply because the place was lacking capable staff, have no idea what we're doing!" Gloria simply settled for glaring at him.

"Look, could you just keep your mouths shut and let the rest of us concentrate?" The lead doctor spoke out irritably. "I'll buy you all bagels if you just do your jobs right today…"

*Whooosh…* *Whooosh…*

With those final movements, archaic patterns began to appear across their patient's body in a much more defined manner, each line meeting up to connect with the mark of corruption and causing it to ooze out more of its energy. Their patient's face had a look of discomfort, sweat slightly dripping down his body.

"…Now we just have to wait…" The lead doctor spoke after a moment of silence. "Any of you up for coffee?"

"Yeah…I'm tired from my damn shift, lets go." Gloria moaned as she rubbed her head, feeling a headache forming while following her co-worker and superior.

"I'll go back with you guys in a minute." One of the other doctors called out, drawing confused looks from his colleagues.

This doctor looked rather unassuming, just like what one would expect a passer by to look like when you passed him in the street, with common brown shaggy hair and brown eyes with slight aging visible on his unassuming features. He turned his gaze to his co-workers.

"After all, we don't know what the backlash of this experiment is going to be so its best to have at least one set of eyes upon it." The others, seeing his logic while silently thanking him for being the one to do it, left the room.

"Now then…" The doctor turned his gaze to the mark on the patient's chest. "I wonder what makes you tick…" He slowly approached the patient.

!

"Arrrggghhhh!" A strangled cry of pain escaped the patient's lips as more and more of the black substance escaped from the mark, covering the area. The doctor made no move to assist in the patient's struggle with this supernatural force and merely chose to observe, studying the ooze from all possible angles.

"Jeez, you're loud." He complained to the screaming patient. "Would you just shut up?" As if divine intervention had been listening to the doctor's request/order, the patient did indeed stop his noise making and fell limply on his back.

"Ah…"A gasp of relief escaped the patient's lips as the doctor stared at the concentration of ooze that had moved from the boy's chest to the floor.

"How curious…" He moved forward, armed with his wand as he stood in front of the disgusting amorphous blob of goo that had escaped the patient's chest. "I wonder what you are…my Lord would certainly be interested in acquiring whatever this is." With that, he stepped even closer…

!

"MMPPHH!" The doctor had little time to scream as his face was literally covered by the ooze that had suddenly leapt at him. "Mmmph! Mmmm!" He knocked over various medical supplies and tables in his struggle to fight this formless entity.

"_**Kukukukuku!**_" The thing laughed at him! How was this possible? Was he going to die here? When he had so much left to accomplish in the world? Were his dreams that lofty that Merlin himself had commissioned the act of divine punishment? That he would-

"UURRRKKK!" His inner thoughts were interrupted brutally as the disgusting ooze slowly entered through every hole in his head. "AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!" With that shriek, the doctor's form fell limp yet surprisingly stayed on his feet. The ooze all but inside of him now…

"Maxwell? Maxwell, are you alright?" His colleagues called through the door. "We heard a scream…" 'Maxwell' tilted his head towards the door.

"Oh, do not be alarmed friends…I was merely startled slightly, you know how things are when you work in a hospital." His voice now had a strange serpentine quality to it that the others failed to hear. "I'm alright now, perhaps a little medication would be best, eh?"

"Well, if you're sure your okay…" The voice of Gloria followed the first voice. "Come…come see us if something's bothering you okay?" She sounded quite worried.

"Do not worry, my dear…I'm quite fine…yes, very fine indeed…" Maxwell commented idly, listening intently as the footsteps of his colleagues faded into the distance.

"Kukukuku…" A sinister hissing chuckle escaped from Maxwell's lips as his brown bangs covered his eyes. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Freedom! At long last!"

In place of his boring plain brown eyes was a pair of rather odd looking orbs. Twin eyes, each a dark gold in colour with a slit in each one in place of a usual pupil, gleamed maniacally in the darkness of the room. Also, strangely enough, serpent-like purple markings could be seen framing said serpent-like eyes…

*Hiss!*

The sound of a soft hissing broke him out of his little insane moment of ecstasy as he looked around for the cause of the noise, finding it in the form of a small white snake sitting by the window. 'Maxwell' merely smirked at it before looking around the room…his gaze landed on the patient.

A feeling of intense rage suddenly filled every fibre of his being as he gazed upon that fallen form. Since he was only a fragment and therefore only held a few of his former memories, it was difficult to place a name to this boy who was causing him a great deal of frustration.

"Why do I have the sudden urge to kill you, I wonder…" He commented idly as he reached over to another desk for a medical scalpel. "Oh well." With that, he raised the miniature surgical knife high in the air…

*CRASH!*

The sudden noise shocked him out of his current actions as he turned to face what he presumed was an intruder…finding him to be an old man.

Flashes of different memories assaulted him at once, showing him pictures of another old man in white and red robes while smoking from a pipe. The negative feelings of anger as well as slight fear filled his heart as he remembered this man, but also a minor grudging positive feeling of respect built up along side them. This old man in front of him gave off vibes similar to the man in his little memory flash…he didn't like it.

"Who are you and what are you doing to Mr. Kaguya?" The man's voice exuded authority as well as, strangely enough, a grandfatherly tone.

"What am I doing? I am merely performing my daily activities as a medical expert, sir." The serpentine quality did not go unnoticed by the old man in front of him, who narrowed his blue twinkling eyes.

"That voice…have you possessed someone yet again, Tom?" He asked, wand held out in front of him. 'Maxwell' blinked.

"And just who is this 'Tom' that you speak of? Also why are you pointing that sharpened stick at me? Is it a weapon of sorts? Kukukuku! Amusing old fool…" He suddenly leapt high into the air, causing the old man to blink in astonishment before steeling his expression into that of mild anger.

"Answer me! If you are not who I think you are then please identify yourself!" He commanded while 'Maxwell' chuckled in sick amusement. "I'll give you till the count of three! One…two…three!"

"STUPEFY!"

"Sen'eijashu! (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)" Both of them cried out in tandem, and the old man was shocked when a series of large snakes shot out of his opponents lab coat sleeve and collided with his spell…

*Boom!*

The clash slightly rocketed the room a little, though not by much. 'Maxwell' was staring at the old man in some kind of sick awe.

"How fascinating…what was that light you shot from that stick, a new kind of jutsu perhaps? You've just made yourself a bit more interesting to me, old man." With that, he held out both of his hands.

"Sen'eijashu!" He cried out the strange sounding word again and this time, snakes appeared from both arms, hissing and snarling as they made their way across to the old man…

"DIEEEEEE!" 'Maxwell cried as he watched the snakes get ever so closer towards their mark.

*SPLINCH!*

'Maxwell' was surprised then; that many of his snakes had seemingly been killed in an instance, courtesy of what appeared to be sharp looking bone columns erupting from the floor, like strangely shaped swords. Seeing that the old man was just as confused as he was, 'Maxwell' turned his attention to the only other occupant in the room…

Only to be met with wide green emerald eyes that seemed very familiar yet so far away to him. The boy's pure white hair that was styled with a zigzag parting in the middle was oh so familiar…why couldn't he remember him? Vague pictures, mostly blurry, seemed to show a much younger version of this boy looking up at him in admiration, loyalty…

Respect.

"Y-you! Orochi…" The words died on the boy's lips as his face appeared to be conflicted with different emotions, ranging from elation to fear to rage. 'Maxwell' smirked.

"Kukukuku! Do I seem familiar to you, dear boy?" He asked in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Sadly, I don't seem to know who you are." The boy appeared to be slightly hurt at that remark but covered it up well with a mask of indifference, something that seemed to amuse 'Maxwell' greatly.

"While this has been fun, I think it's time I made my exit." He suddenly announced to his shocked two-man audience. "Farewell…" With that, he ran over to the nearby window and jumped through it, glass smashing effortlessly as his body faded into the darkness of the night…

"Are you alright, Kimimaro?" The old man asked the young boy in worry, as he just continued to stare at the spot where the strange man was just a moment ago. "Kimimaro?" He asked again, tapping the boy's shoulder.

"I…" The boy's words died on his lips as he felt his eyelids getting heavier with exhaustion due to the large usage of chakra, finally collapsing to the floor.

"It's going to be alright, Mr. Kaguya." The old man's voice rang in his ears as he felt himself being levitated over to a nearby bed. "I'll call the doctor…" With that, the old man left the room as Kimimaro sank into the realm of unconsciousness as his body hit the soft mattress with a slight thump.

Some time later…

"Patient is stabilising…" The voice of a man echoed in Kimimaro's head as he could feel himself being dragged back into the world of the living.

"Mr. Dumbledore…are…okay?" This voice, a woman's if the pitch was of any indication, sounded slightly muffled to his ears.

"Nothing to serious my dear…" The jovial voice of the old man, Dumbledore, entered his ears as he slowly began to sit up…

"Easy now…" The warning tone from the doctor helping him up passed through his hearing range. "Don't want to strain yourself now…"

"Dumbledore-san…" He muttered, causing Dumbledore to look at him as well as the other doctors, who were wondering what the suffix he had put at the end of Dumbledore's name meant.

"Ah yes, I suppose we should have a word, hmm?" He said, not so subtly requesting for privacy away from the doctors. Once he was certain that there was nobody else in the building, Dumbledore turned to Kimimaro.

"It seems as though you have been through quite the ordeal, young Kimimaro." He said jovially and Kimimaro merely blinked at him.

'How can he act like that? He was almost faced with death and a few moments later he just laughs it off?' He thought to himself. 'I do not understand this man.'

"Though I am curious." Dumbledore admitted to himself. "It appears to me as if you knew that strange fellow." Kimimaro twitched but Dumbledore continued on.

"How exactly did you become acquainted with such an…unsavoury individual?" Kimimaro seemed to be fighting with himself for a brief moment but eventually came up with an answer.

"That man is Orochimaru." He admitted while Dumbledore's eyes widened a little, recognising the name from his previous and somewhat guarded conversations with the boy in front of him. "At least, I think he is…though why he doesn't remember me is confusing I must admit…"

"He is the one who gave you that cursed mark?" Dumbledore asked him while Kimimaro nodded stiffly. "The one you formerly referred to as your master?" Again, Kimimaro nodded stiffly, not liking this pace of conversation.

Sensing Kimimaro's increasingly sullen mood, Dumbledore decided that a change of conversation material was in order. So, without further ado, he proceeded to talk again.

"Ahem! Well erm…deviating from this obviously uncomfortable topic, perhaps you would like to hear about the operation?" He mentioned idly, watching as Kimimaro's eyes widened when he tried to claw his clothing off of him to get a look at the results…

'It's gone…'Kimimaro wondered to himself, feeling no particular emotion of any kind surfacing.

Indeed, his curse seal had been removed from his chest as if it were never there. There wasn't even a scar! It seemed as though these wizarding medics were quite skilled in their line of work. Orochimaru's seal skills were said to be second only to the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha so it must have taken quite a while to get it out of his system completely.

"…Kimimaro?" Said teen inwardly cursed as he realised that he had been trapped within his thoughts the whole time that Dumbledore was trying to talk to him. "Must be fatigued from the operation…I'll send word to the others not to disturb you. Have a nice sleep."

A very silent 'thank you' escaped Kimimaro's lips as the old man left the room.

A short while later, in an undisclosed location…

"Kukukuku! What an interesting place this 'wizarding world' is!" The serpentine voice of the former snake sannin of Konohagakure, Orochimaru, hissed out in amusement from within a small forest hideout, currently in control of a body that did not belong to him.

Well, he calls it a hideout but really…it was just a run down old shack in the middle of dense woodlands. Still, it would do for the time being…anyway!

Yes, the wizarding world. Where could he honestly start? Everything about this bizarre land seemed like pure fantasy to someone like him. The strange creatures, the unusual enigmatic people, and finally…

"Magic…kukuku!" He laughed a snake-like laugh as he pushed some of his now silky smooth long black hair out of his serpentine eyes, having regained his original appearance soon after locating this spot.

Magic of all things, was real! At first, he had dismissed it as a ludicrous thought, merely thinking that 'magic' was another name for jutsu in this land. He never would have guessed that the stories he had seen as a child about wizards and witches were actually real…

"And that old man…what power he has!" Orochimaru hissed to himself as he looked out of the broken window of his shack. "I want it…"

Indeed, that attack the old man had used against him, the 'Stupefy' if he heard correctly, was able to render his snake hand technique almost completely ineffective. If he could grasp that power, then his arsenal of knowledge would increase exponentially!

"Kukuku…hmm?" He paused in his sinister laughter as a rather strange sensation began to erupt through his body. "What is this…is this pain?" Indeed, the sensation that had slowly built up was beginning to feel like a dull throbbing pain, the kind of which he had experienced after exhausting his chakra supply a few times in his youth.

"Where is it coming from?" Luckily for him, he had built up somewhat of a tolerance to pain, able to shrug off seemingly mortal wounds without a care in the world so right now, and this sensation was little more than an annoying irritation.

"**Moraine, you imbecile! I am calling you! Respond or face the consequences!**" A serpent sounding voice not unlike his own entered his ears from seemingly out of nowhere, causing him to smirk a little at the similarities. "**Hmm? You…you are not Maxwell Moraine. Who are you?**"

Choosing not to dignify the voice with a response, Orochimaru began to look over his temporary body, trying to find the source of the voice that had shown its presence only when he began to feel pain…

"There you are…" He whispered sadistically as he pulled up the sleeve on his lab coat, marvelling at the pattern that was seemingly engraved on his left arm…a symbol of a skull with a snake coiling around it, with the snake moving around and hissing slightly at him.

It idly reminded him a little of his own product, the curse seal, if he said so himself. In fact, he could actually feel the 'magic' of his 'host', Maxwell Moraine, being drained through the symbol as well as darker thoughts being sent into his mind. Luckily for him, his now puny chakra reserves were remained untouched by this leech and therefore, his ability to perform jutsu would not be hindered…

Oh yes, his reserves. Since he was now little more than a fragment of the original Orochimaru, who had poured pieces of his soul into the individual curse seals, he only had approximately a tenth of the originals overall power. Right now, the best he could most likely manage was the snake hand technique and his body take-over manoeuvre. A far cry difference of what he used to be able to accomplish when he was on the top of his game.

It was quite frankly, pathetic. He must have been completely out of his element in this obviously foreign nation, with chakra reserves rivalling that of a mere genin/low chuunin, and the overall jutsu capacity to go with it.

"I suppose that I will have to rely on this foreign power, this magic, for the time being while I rebuild my reserves, which means…" He suddenly turned a menacing glare towards the mark on his arm. "That you…will have to go." With that, Orochimaru got up and made his way over to what would be the 'kitchen' of this middle of nowhere dump.

"No…that's not good enough, not too sharp…ah, here we go!" He said in triumph as he produced a rather large butcher knife from the cutlery drawer. Sending a feral leer at the leech on his arm, he slowly positioned the knife just below his elbow…

"**Wait, you fool! What do you think you are doing?"** The snake voice hissed from the mark, causing Orochimaru to cringe at it. **"I will not stand for this treachery do you hear me? Lord Voldemort will not stand for this-"**

*SPLINCH!*

"**AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHH!**" The voice cried out in pain as Orochimaru sliced straight through his lower arm with such speed that it took a while for his body to realise that it was now missing a limb…

*WHOOOSH!*

A torrent of liquid red soon began to erupt from the stump of Orochimaru's arm, with bits of bone mixed with other substances oozing out of his system.

"Did you enjoy that?" Orochimaru chuckled sinisterly to his lower arm, which now lay limply on the floor as the mark continued to pulse wildly, cursing at its loss of magic. "What's the matter, has the baby lost his bottle?"

"**Y-you swine! Mongrel! How dare you do this to me?**" The voice snarled, sounding much weaker than before. "**You are going to die for this, you hear me? I will hunt you down for the rest of your-**"

*Hiss!*

The voice's protests died out as a growing hissing noise made itself apparent in the room, hinting at the presence of a reptilian creature in the room.

"I have no further use of that thing…dispose of it for me would you, my dear?" Orochimaru hissed towards the shadows…

"Of course, Lord Orochimaru…but you should know this. Lord Manda is not happy with you." A serpentine voice hissed back. "He demands payment that is overdue." Orochimaru sniffed.

"Tch…Why am I not surprised? Very well, he'll get his _payment_…" He sneered and the snake nodded before moving to do as her contract holder ordered.

*GULP!*

With that, the lower left limb of Maxwell Moraine, now Orochimaru, fell prey to the stomach acids of the serpent summon, with the voice cursing all the while.

*SQUISH!* *SQUISH!* *SQUISH!*

The rather repulsive sound seemed to echo around the room as a strange ooze-like substance began to erupt out of the stump of Orochimaru's arm, forming what appeared to be a new shape…

"Ahhh! Much better…" Orochimaru groaned with relief as he examined his new appendage…a replaced, purely clean arm that matched his corpse-like complexion. No mark was in sight…perfect.

"Now that that annoyance has been taken care of…it's time I turned my attention to the future." He remarked before placing his hand inside his pocket and pulling out…a wand.

Looking at it with a critical eye, Orochimaru merely waved it…

*Boom!*

And was surprised when the table he was previously sitting at caught fire. Looking down at the wand, he glared at it for a brief moment.

'This tool…is not right for one such as I…I'll need to procure a more suitable replacement.'

With that in mind, the snake sannin Orochimaru began to plot and plan within his shack, with fiendish laughter resonating in the surrounding area.

"_**HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" **_

Meanwhile…

"Bastard!" Another serpentine voice similar to a certain snake sannin cried out in fury as he smashed his hand on his throne in rage.

Lord Voldemort did not take too kindly to losing one of his followers as well as a boon in his strength. No, his very magic had been carefully weaned and attuned into each individual that he had personally 'marked' with his brand so that he could secretly leech their power, adding to his own. Even losing just one of the 'links', no matter how insignificant its holder was, caused him such unbearable agony that he would liken it to that of the Cruciatus curse.

"My lord!" The startled shriek broke through his ears as he gritted his teeth in pain, cursing the woman's timing in arriving at his side. He glared at her with his blood red eyes.

Whereas in some point of time, she would have been a rather beautiful woman, only a shell stood in her place. Her black hair was long, wild and untamed, as if she hadn't made any attempt to wash or brush it. Her face, which was once young and full of life, had been reduced to a gaunt, almost vampire-like visage that could hardly be called attractive in any sense of the word. Voldemort inwardly grimaced at her appearance.

"My lord, are you alright?" Her voice grated in his ears, causing him to grit his teeth harder. "Do you need assistance?"

"Alright? ALRIGHT? Do I look 'alright' to you, Bellatrix?" He snarled. "One of the marks has been wiped out!" The now named Bellatrix's eyes widened in surprise and shock.

"FIND ME MORAINE! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU DO, JUST FIND HIM AND BRING HIM HERE!" He yelled as a particularly nasty spark of pain racketed through his body, causing the woman to jump back at the sudden noise. "Do not harm him though, dear Bella…I want him alive."

"Of course, my lord." She said with a sadistic undertone in her voice as she left the presence of Voldemort.

"You cannot hide forever, impersonator of Moraine…I'll deal with you soon enough." He spoke out, not expecting anybody to answer him as his face became concealed by the shadows of his dark abode.

Elsewhere…

Tightening his latest acquisition, a pitch-black hooded cloak, Orochimaru carefully moved through the crowds of rather dubious looking people to reach his destination.

"Toe nail clippings, five sickles for a pack of ten!" An old hag yelled at him over the heads of the crowds while Orochimaru sneered at her, silently mocking her while wondering what use toe nail clippings would have in any form of transaction/activity. Shaking his head, he continued to move through, pushing past the odd drunk and scatter-brained old women along the way.

His 'host' had quite an extensive range of knowledge in this particular part of the wizarding world, called 'Knockturn Alley'. Apparently, the shops here dealt with goods that were deemed 'unsightly' and 'hot property' in society.

"Get your voodoo heads over here, for only five knuts each!" A shady store vendor screamed out at passing by pedestrians.

'Honestly.' Orochimaru thought to himself in mild disgust. 'This is what people blacklist as 'dealers of dark artefacts'?'

Perhaps these accusers should take a look at some of his earlier work, then try to make the obviously pathetic comparison of his magnificent designs to these…pieces of garbage that these dealers were peddling to the moronic public.

Still, he was not here to debate on the goods that these pathetic excuses for human beings were trying to sell. No, he was here to acquire something more…specific in nature.

The place he was heading to was a store called 'Old Sal's discount wands'. Apparently this wand store, while not nowhere as near as popular as the Ollivanders store in Diagon Alley, was the store in which his 'host' had purchased his first wand as a child…and that was most likely going to be his best place in finding a match for himself now that his take over of Maxwell Moraine had rendered the wand useless.

*Ring!*

Orochimaru twitched at the sound of the harmless chime of the doorbell, most likely letting the occupier of the store know of his presence. Still, he decided not to let this bother him too much…he had business to conduct anyway.

"Hold on, buddy, I'm coming! Keep your knickers on…" Orochimaru growled in annoyance at the sound of the voice, watching unblinkingly as a wiry old man came down the stairs, coughing while smoking a cigarette.

"What do ya want?" He barked and Orochimaru pushed the urge to kill this ingrate deeper into recesses of his mind.

"I require a wand. Now." He said, getting straight to the point while the old man, who he presumed was 'Old Sal' went to the back, mumbling to himself about 'bossy assholes' and the like.

After a moment of hearing nothing but shuffling and cursing from the old man, Orochimaru chose to silently wait by the door in the case that the man had some kind of trap laid out for him. From what he had seen of the inhabitants of this alley, he wouldn't trust anyone with even a hair from his head.

"Alright…here. That's ten discount wands, I ain't risking you blowing up my store just because a few of them blow up on ya." Old Sal snapped. "That'll be 40 galleons."

Orochimaru had only barely heard the man since he was examining one of the wands critically but he caught the sentence that mentioned the price. Sighing tiredly, he turned to the old man, who seemed to be waiting for him to produce the gold currency…

"Yes, yes, your _payment_." Orochimaru hissed. "I have your payment…right here!" With that, he struck.

A rather large boa constrictor made its way out of his cloak, coming to rest right in front of the now pale Old Sal, who backed away from the monstrous serpent.

*Hiss!*

"I'll leave you two to get better acquainted then, shall I? Good day, sir." With that, he left the store, smiling as he heard screams of pain and hisses of excitement in the distance.

"Today is a good day…" He said idly, causing many of the dirty and darker individuals of Knockturn Alley to look at him strangely. Chuckling sinisterly, Orochimaru attempted to evacuate the area, intent on finding out if one of these 'wands' was the one for him.

"…And just where do you think you're going, Moraine?" A woman's voice cooed from behind him, causing him to stop in his steps and turn to confront whoever was trying to provoke him.

The woman looked pretty much like the epitome of a vampire, with scraggly and matted long black hair and gaunt facial features. Her ensemble was a rather noble looking gothic-styled dress. Behind her were two thug-like brutes each wearing matching disguises: Skull-like masks, long black robes, and strangely pointed hats. Orochimaru blinked at them, not knowing what else to do when being approached by such…bizarre looking individuals. He noted that a few of the Knockturn Alley pedestrians had shied away into the recesses of the shadows, keen on watching any potential conflict.

"Our lord is not pleased with you, Moraine, not pleased at all." Her voice sounded as though she was talking to a child. "Sadly, I have been instructed to only bring you back…cant even give him a bruise." She muttered the last part under her breath but Orochimaru caught it, causing his eyes to narrow slightly. So…they wanted to kidnap him? Well, he would show them that he was nobody to trifle with.

"Oh? And why, in your depraved filthy mind, do you think I would be willing to accompany you…Bellatrix Lestrange?" He said, fishing out the name from his host's memories. "I am afraid that I have much more…pressing matters to attend to, perhaps we can have this chat another time?"

Orochimaru was greatly amused when the woman sent an angry glare at him, sending swift nudges to the brutes behind her, who stepped forward brandishing their wands. She then smiled at him.

"I don't recall Maxwell Moraine ever being so defiant…he was always so submissive." She cooed, while Orochimaru cringed. "You…are not Moraine. Who are you?"

"Kukukukuku!" His serpentine laughter echoed through the streets, causing onlookers to cringe at the sound. "No…I am not Maxwell Moraine, my dear…" He slowly reached for his hood, watching in barely concealed amusement as the brutes tensed up.

"My name is of no importance to someone like you." He hissed with a smile, taking off his hood and exposing his face to the trio of Death Eaters. "Come…let us take up arms." Needless to say, the brutes were all too eager to respond.

"**Reducto!**" Both of them cried at once and Orochimaru watched with rapt attention as two beams of blue light raced towards him. With the grace of a war hardened shinobi, Orochimaru was able to easily dodge the attacks while unpacking one of the wands from its case…

"Another intriguing piece of magic!" Orochimaru practically gushed as he heard the mild explosion from the dodges spells collide into the brick wall behind him. "I think I'll give it a try myself…**Reducto!**"

He watched with satisfaction as a familiar glow of blue light erupted from the tip of the wand rather violently, forcing the Death Eaters to jump out of the way.

"So my host has experience using this spell…" Orochimaru muttered, silently thanking Maxwell Moraine for his contribution in his 'revival' as it were. "I wonder what else he knew…" With that, he watched the trio of Death Eaters for anything that could be used against them…only to blink in mild surprise at the sight before him.

"Idiots! Fools! I give you one simple job and you completely bumble it up!" Bellatrix yelled as she stomped on the fallen men, who had yet to get up after dodging Orochimaru's violent spell. "CRUCIO!" She screamed and pain filled cries began to erupt from the downed duo. Orochimaru watched in intrigue.

"AHAHAHAHA! SCREAM FOR ME YOU FAILURES!" Okay, maybe he wasn't paying so much attention to the woman but to the downed men, who seemed to be convulsing in some kind of pain.

'Could it be some kind of Genjutsu that causes actual pain? How akin to the Tsukuyomi technique of the Sharingan it is!' He thought to himself in excitement. A chance to replicate a technique that he had coveted for so long…he had to have it! So, it was with zero hesitation that he pointed his wand at the still screaming Bellatrix and…

"Crucio!" He practically hissed, watching as the woman shivered a little before laughing wildly, causing Orochimaru to blink.

"Fool! You have to want to hurt the person in order to use that curse!" She yelled, still in some kind of insane ramble as she focused her attention more on the downed and screaming brutes…a fatal mistake on her part.

"So…I need a desire to inflict pain on you, hmm? Very well then…" Orochimaru then gained a sadistic gleam in his eyes. "**Crucio!**"

Bellatrix only had one second to comprehend the viciousness in the man's voice before a pain like no other began to spread inside her whole body, eliciting a shriek of agony mixed with a strange pleasure…oh she had never hurt this much from a Cruciatus curse, it caused the hairs on the back of her neck to shiver.

"Kukukuku!" His snake-like laughter rang merrily in her ears as she looked at him from her position on the ground. "I must thank you and your friends, Bellatrix Lestrange. Without you, I wouldn't have acquired such a small but very deadly arsenal of spells…magic is truly a fascinating thing!" He laughed.

"Now, what should I do with you? I have no need for those two." He gestured to the now unconscious brutes, who had been knocked out due to the pain. "Perhaps I'll…kill them?" He asked in deranged glee and Bellatrix was forced to watch as a small army of snakes slithered out of the man's cloak and over towards the two men…

She bit back a grimace as she watched the serpents tear into the flesh of her comrades, instead choosing to glare up at the man who had dared resist capture. He chuckled sinisterly again.

"You are a very interesting person, Bellatrix Lestrange." He remarked, with his serpent-like eyes never leaving hers. "While I must depart today, I do look forward to future meetings…perhaps I'll even give you a 'gift'." The way he said gift made Bellatrix cringe, knowing that whatever it was he was offering wouldn't be good for her or her lord.

"Until then…" He said before seemingly vanishing in front of her very eyes.

Bellatrix Lestrange shakily got to her feet before letting out a screech of fury, kicking the corpses of the rotting Death Eater brutes before looking around wildly.

"What are you looking at, filth?" She hollered at the shadowy patrons of Knockturn Alley, who backed away in fright of the obviously insane woman.

Bellatrix quickly made her leave of the area, sensing that Aurors were about to arrive to investigate the commotion.

She did not want to be dragged down back to Azkaban again. And besides, those slimy thugs that her lord hired would be easy to pin any blame on.

Still, this encounter with the snake-like man had to be reported to her lord as quickly as possible.

She would not fail her lord again like she did all those years ago.

Never.

**End of Chapter!**

**Okay, I went in a slightly different yet pretty much expected direction for this story.**

**So…Orochimaru, eh? I wouldn't imagine you would all be surprised by his re-emergence. I mean, he is a sneaky bastard so he probably had a failsafe to fall back on in the case that he became incapacitated in any way. I mean damn...He'll probably take over Kabuto at some point in canon (all that exposure to Oro's genes and stuff surely cannot be good for him).**

**Right now, Oro isn't as strong as his former self but with his instincts as a shinobi practically drilled into him, it wouldn't take too much out of him to make work of some hired goons. He will get stronger eventually so no worries about him being a pushover antagonist.**

**About his memories…well, since he is only a fragment of his former self, he won't be able to remember everything straight away. The reason that he cannot remember Kimimaro properly will be revealed in later chapters since I will go into greater details about it.**

**One more thing: He will ****NOT**** be siding with Kimimaro at all. This will eventually be revealed later as Orochimaru regains more and more of his past memories and comes to see Kimimaro as his enemy simply because he will feel that Kimimaro betrayed him.**

**I know it may seem confusing but I am going to elaborate on it…I wont let it become a bastard plot bunny! D:**

**Time to wrap this up then. The next chapter will deal with Kimimaro training (I'm actually going to make it a bit more detailed than what I have been doing in the first few chapters) as well as Orochimaru confronting Voldemort's forces.**

**Many thanks for reading,**

**Endo**


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